Jurassic World: The Whisper
by The Mr E
Summary: This story takes place in an alternate timeline. The main difference? Jake Anderson, an InGen employee who raises the I. rex's sister in secret, thus changing the script and giving you a Jurassic World story you've never seen before. This story was requested by Core of Justice. A few other writers have begun their version of it, but this is my take on the idea. T for violence.
1. Chapter 1: So You Whisper?

**As stated in the description, this story was written at the request of Core of Justice. Jake, Hailstorm and the spinosaurus siblings are ideas Core of Justice gave me to work with, along with some scenes to be included.**

 **This story is going to be somewhat shorter than The Unseen Element, but I hope to do it justice (no pun intended).**

 **The story starts some time before the events of the Jurassic World movie.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 1

So You ... Whisper?

Claire dropped her latte as she stared at one of the surveillance screens in the control room.

There was a man in the spinosaurus siblings' paddock. Sure, the predators were not nearly as big as they would grow to be. As youngsters, they were only 4 feet tall, but that was big enough to tear the man apart.

 **"What is he doing?** " Claire asked Lowery Cruthers, one of the control room's staff. **"Get him out of there, NOW!"**

"No need," Lowry declared as he leaned back in his chair.

She stared at him, appalled. _**"What?"**_

"How am I gonna get him out of there anyway?" asked Lowery. "Que sera sera – what ever will happen will happen. We can replace him, right?"

The fact that he disregarded such an urgent situation shocked her, but it was nothing compared to the shock of seeing the two spinosauruses pounce the man in their paddock and throw him to the ground. Part of her wanted to look away, but she did not. In her fright-fueled imagination, she expected to see body parts flying as the carnage began. However, the carnage never came. The spinosauruses seemed gentle, playful even. They wrestled the man like a pair of puppies.

Clare looked at Lowery, who was taking in her shocked expression with the utmost amusement. Angered by his delight in her moment of panic, she swept all of the carefully-positioned, collectable dinosaurs figures off his desk and they scattered across the room.

"Aww, _man!"_ he exclaimed.

Good, she thought. That would teach him not to toy with her emotions.

"Who's the guy in the spinosaurus paddock?" she asked.

"Oh, you know him. That's Jake Anderson," Lowery explained.

She stared at him blankly. The name clearly didn't ring a bell.

"He's been here for, like, two years," Lowery went on.

"A lot of people have been here for a while," Claire stated. "It's not that big of a deal if I don't remember him."

"Claire, you're his _**mentor!"**_ Lowery exclaimed. "How could you _**not**_ remember him?"

That took her by surprise. Over time, she had mentored dozens of staff. It was her job to show them the ropes and get them settled in. However, she seldom spoke to them one-on-one. Besides, she had quite a few other jobs. In Jurassic World, there were always at least several things demanding her attention at any given moment. However, this "Jake" was the only thing demanding her attention now. She was supposed to show him the ropes, but it seemed he had learned the ropes better than she could ever imagine.

Lowery accessed an employee file on his computer and the monitor displayed an African American with curly black hair and a fit build – Jake.

"Since you have no recollection of who he is, I'll fill you in on the basics," Lowery explained. "Let's see … he has a doctorate degree in paleontology and four years' experience practicing the craft professionally. He also has expert knowledge of modern predators, especially big cats – raised a few himself. He signed up for the job spinosaurus handler, like, the _**second**_ it was available (I'm exaggerating. More like in the first twenty minutes – still crazy quickly, though). Oh, not to mention he has some measure of Navy training …"

"He was in the Navy, like Owen?" asked Claire.

"Uh, no," Lowery clarified. "His uncle was in the Navy, a SEAL to be exact. He and the uncle were close. He claims that his uncle taught him a thing or two."

Claire shook her head. "I still can't believe I've been so oblivious about Jake."

"Well, to be fair, he's kind of on the shy side," Lowery acknowledged as he began to gather his dinosaur figures and position them where they belonged on his desk. "I don't see him around much. Plus, he's not too chatty, except with Owen. I've noticed them together and I think they're friends, but with the exception of Owen I think Jake prefers dinos over people."

Claire didn't seem to be listening. She was transfixed by Jake's interaction with the spinosauruses. They seemed to treat him as if her were one of them. She wondered how a human being could garner that kind of respect from ancient lizards. She saw Owen enter the paddock on the monitor. The spinosauruses regarded him with wary eyes, but it was clear that they were obedient enough to leave him alone. Either that or they were familiar with him. Perhaps it was a combination of both.

Lowery glanced at the screen, then at Claire. She noticed him grin. Knowing that he was going to tease her about her sudden interest in the spinosaurus handler, she threw her arm across his desk and scattered his dinosaurs once again.

"But I didn't even say anything this time …" he complained, staring at the mess she had made in dismay.

"Precisely, and I'd prefer to keep it that way," Claire playfully declared.

With that, she left the room. Where was she heading? The spinosaurus paddock. Yes, she was a busy workaholic, but for once in a long time she decided to take a detour. For once, the dinosaurs weren't just assets meant to draw in visitors to Jurassic World. She wanted to see firsthand how the human managed to bond with the spinosauruses to the point where the species barrier between them didn't matter.

* * *

In the spinosaurus paddock, Owen and Jake discussed the last few minutes.

"Jake?" began Owen. "What exactly did we do right this time?"

"We exercised patience? Tact?" Jake suggested.

"We've been doing that all along," Owen declared.

Jake shrugged. "Well, I guess we can chalk it up in part to an insane amount of luck."

"Yeah, I guess so," Owen agreed.

They proudly watched as their respective dinosaurs – Jake's spinosauruses and Owen's raptors – slept close to one and other under the dappled light dancing through the leaves of a tree. The creatures were completely comfortable in each other's company, but that had not always been the story. Owen and Jake had tried to introduce their dinosaur charges many times – sixteen times, to be exact. The first fifteen introductions ended in hostile hissing. Measuring only two and a half feet long, the young raptors never attacked, knowing that the spinosauruses had the advantage in size. The spinos, on the other hand, never attacked due to the raptors' advantage in numbers. With lots of threats but no actual violence, the two groups were locked in a kind of cold war. This time, seemingly by some stroke of luck, Owen's pack and Jake's sibling spinosaruses had become friends. Of course, the two humans had taken every precaution to make that happen. For starters, they allowed the different sets of dinosaurs to meet in an area that neither had claimed as territory. That meant that none had the right to be too defensive. Now, there was no need for defense. The two species had sealed their friendship by claiming this area as their territory together.

Jake glanced back. Something had caught his eye. He quickly dusted off his black shirt and red shorts in order to look more presentable. Owen noticed him, followed his gaze and saw Claire watching them from the corridor behind the glass that surrounded the paddock.

"Why did you do that?" asked Owen, eying Jake suspiciously.

"Do what?" responded Jake.

"Try to clean yourself up a bit," Owen clarified. "I mean, it's just Claire, not the President of the United States."

"When my superior wants to see me, I prefer not to look like I've been rolling on the ground wrestling dinosaurs," Jake explained.

"Yeah, especially when _**you**_ want to see _**her too,**_ am I right? _ **"**_ Owen teased with a grin.

Jake rolled his eyes and gave a sheepish smile.

" **I knew it!"** Owen exclaimed. **"Case dismissed! Mic drop!"**

Jake playfully shoved Owen, only to be shoved back.

Owen suddenly took on a more serious demeanour as he cautioned his friend. "Be warned. I tried to date her once. She brought an _itinerary_ for our first night out and turned her nose up at **_tequila!_** Can you believe that? **What kind of diet doesn't allow tequila?"**

"All of them, actually," Jake stated.

Owen shook his head at Jake. "You know what? Maybe you two should get together. You seem to come from the same, weird universe."

Claire marveled at the sleeping dinosaurs. She didn't know too much about them, but she knew enough to imagine that they should not have been getting along with each other the way they were.

Her attention was drawn to Owen and Jake as they entered the corridor.

"How did you do that?" she asked, pointing at the dinosaurs. "How did you get those two species to coexist like that? I've never seen anyone control them so effectively."

"It's not about control," Owen corrected. "It's about a relationship based on mutual respect, which is why you and I never had a second date."

"Did it occur to you that I never _wanted_ a second date?" asked Claire. "I dressed up, arrived at the restaurant _**on time,**_ mind you, and who shows up half an hour late? **You!** _ **Brandishing**_ your hairy legs in a pair of **board shorts!"**

Owen was taken aback. _"Brandishing_ my-? You make it sound so- You know what? **Who cares!** It's South America, it's hot! Besides, it's not _**my**_ fault you stuffed yourself into some claustrophobic outfit! I wanted to enjoy my night in comfort, thank you very much."

Claire wasn't paying attention. Her eyes alternated between Owen and Jake. She noticed how Jake's intelligent, chocolate eyes seemed to soak in everything around him. He was studying her and Owen, and he did it in such a natural way that it seemed like breathing. Yes, he projected the air of a somewhat quiet person, but even though he said nothing she could tell that there was a lot going on in his brain.

Owen stopped talking, realizing that she wasn't listening.

"So, how do you control, I mean 'handle', the dinosaurs?" Claire asked Jake.

"In some ways, my techniques overlap with Owen's," Jake explained. "In general, we both employ calm, firm attitudes. However, when my spinosauruses get aggressive, I get calmer. If they get even _more_ aggressive, I get calmer still. Calmness absorbs their aggression like a sponge. Sure, I'm firm with them, but it's a paradoxically flexible kind of firmness. Sometimes, all I have to do is speak under my breath, and they listen."

"So you … whisper?" asked Claire.

"Well, you know the old saying," Jake went on. "'A gentle tongue can break a bone'. As Owen said, it's not about control. If you genuinely want to understand them and take the time to do it, they'll reward you. Does ... that even make any sense?"

She smiled. "Yeah. It actually does."

Claire looked through the glass into the paddock and noticed that the spinosauruses had awoken. They knew Owen, but they didn't know her. For that reason, they were staring at her quite menacingly.

"Are they just gonna keep glaring at me like that?" asked Claire.

Jake chuckled. "Yeah. They're pretty protective."

"They're good judges of character, too," Owen added.

"Owen, do you have anything good to say about Claire?" Jake asked suddenly, yet without a hint of offense.

That took Owen off guard. Even though they were friends, Jake would always call him out on his bad behaviour if he carried it too far. Usually, friends would chicken out of challenging each other over personal issues. Not Jake. Owen respected him for that. However, it still surprised Owen at times.

Owen squinted as he thought hard. "Um … let's see … something good I can say about Claire … Well, she's relatively beautiful, I'll give her that. Aside from that, I got nothing."

"I think you've made your opinion pretty clear," Jake declared. "You don't need to drop any more put-downs. We get it."

Claire chipped in. "In other words, he's your friend, so he's taken the time to think up a shockingly polite way to tell you to **shut up."**

"Well, like you said, he's my friend," Jake added calmly. "He already knows that you're not a big fan of him right now, so there's no need to get in any more put-downs. So, are we all good?"

At that moment, Jake could have sounded like the most self-righteous, preachy person in the world. However, he spoke with such genuine humility and lack of aggression that they couldn't help but listen to him. They didn't feel insulted by what he had said, even though he had criticised them both.

Owen pointed a thumb at Jake. "You see that? That's the technique he uses with his dinosaurs. It works on humans too, and the worst part is I can't even get irritated about it."

Claire chuckled good-naturedly, then extended a hand to Jake.

"Uh, probably not a good idea," Jake stated, showing her his muddy hands (at least he hoped that was mud).

She laughed again, took his hand and shook it. **"Nonsense!** Anyway, keep up the good work. It's nice to see you again."

"Same here," Jake agreed.

Owen extended his hand to Claire, but she stared at it with disdain.

"Oh, and Owen?" she began. "Be sure to get that mud off your hands and your everything else before you leave the paddock. At least, I hope that's mud."

She turned and walked away, leaving Owen stunned.

Jake shrugged and gave Owen a half-reassuring, half-humourous pat on the back. Suddenly, he checked his watch.

"Oops! Gotta go," Jake declared.

Owen squinted at him. "Where? You just got here?"

"It's one of Henry Wu's more hush hush assignments," Jake explained. "If I told you about it, I'd have to kill you."

Owen rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. Like you can take me. We still gotta spar sometime. Then we'll know who's the man once and for all. You still up for it?"

Jake flashed a competitive grin. "Oh, yeah. Just _try_ to put up a good fight."

"Be careful what you wish for," Owen responded, returning a competitive grin of his own.

Jake began to jog away and spoke quickly. "Oh,-and-I'm-gonna-need-you-to-escort-the-dinosaurs-back-to-their-areas,-okay?-Okay!- **Bye!"**

 **"Hey! Your spinos still give me the stink eye!"** Owen called after him.

"They only do that when I'm around! They're protective, remember?" Jake called back as his voice dimmed into the distance.

Owen tapped his foot in irritation, then looked at spinosauruses in the paddock. They were giving him the stink eye, just as he expected. He knew that they trusted him enough for him to lead them back into their enclosures, but he hoped he could get the job done without losing a finger.

* * *

There was a reason why people seldom saw Jake. He spent most of his time away from prying eyes.

Fifteen minutes after his meetup with Owen, he was in an elevator to the underground regions of the island. Isla Nublar housed many caves and caverns – the perfect place for InGen to hide its more secretive sectors.

After the elevator reached its destination, he stepped out and navigated the labyrinth of passages. Various doors stood on either side of the corridors, many leading to areas he did not have permission to enter.

Once he found the door he was looking for, he swiped his keycard through the lock. The electronic door hissed open, he entered and it quickly shut behind him. Within it was a paddock with dirt, trees and bushes like any other. Of course, unlike most paddocks, there was no sky above it – just a big, bright light serving as an artificial sun. Across the room there was a small bunker just for him, equipped with enough amenities for him to live down there for two weeks tops.

However, the paddock's occupant was nowhere to be seen.

Without warning, something leaped onto his back and pinned him to the ground. A growl rumbled into his ears, but he didn't even flinch. In fact, he laughed.

"Hi, Hailstorm," Jake greeted.

* * *

 **That last scene was somewhat influenced by Chapter 10 of my other story, Jurassic Park: The Unseen Element. Can you figure out why?**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thus far, what do you think?**


	2. Chapter 2: Training Hailstorm

Chapter 2: Training Hailstorm

Jake tried to get up, but the thing on his back would not let him. It only snarled in response to his movement.

"What is this?" asked an amused Jake. "Are you trying to scare me? That's so cute!"

The creature released a bloodcurdling roar, but Jake only shook his head in response.

"Okay, you know what?" Jake began. "This isn't working. Not even a little."

When the animal began to sniff Jake for biochemical signs of fear, he abruptly grabbed its neck and threw it over his head, onto its back.

He calmly got up as it sprang to its feet. White as frost, it was a young indominus rex, standing just under four feet tall. Her piercing, predatory eyes were tempered with a kind of child-like innocence. Bowing her head, the I. Rex looked disappointed. After all, she couldn't frighten Jake, and he had thrown her off like a rag doll.

"Don't feel bad, Hailstorm," Jake comforted. "That was a really good ambush".

Her eyes lit up upon hearing that. She turned so that he could see her side and some of the colour-changing scales darkened to form markings, letters, words:

DID YOO SEE MEE?

Hailstorm wouldn't be winning any spelling bees with her poor grammar. Still, it was a miracle that she had learned the English language in the first place, let alone understood enough about letters to try to spell. From the time of her birth, he had visited her, sometimes for days at a time, talking to her, teaching her. Now, she had the vocabulary of young child.

Jake glanced up at the cameras on the walls. He didn't want anyone knowing about Hailstorm's colour-changing abilities, at least not yet. Luckily, she had positioned herself so that none of the cameras could see what she did. He had taught her well.

"Okay, training time," he declared. "You ready?"

She bobbed her head enthusiastically, nodding.

He walked into the bunker and returned about a minute later, carrying what appeared to be several dinosaur toys, from a hand puppet modeled after a T. rex head to stuffed raptors attached to broomsticks. If anyone had to guess, they might have thought that he was about to put on a puppet show. In a way, they would have been right, but this was far more serious than that. Regardless, Hailstorm found it as fun as anything else.

Jake slipped his arm into a K9 training protective sleeve and attached the T. rex puppet to his hand. The pupped was roughly the size of Hailstorm's head, and she stared at it as if it were her mortal enemy.

Suddenly, he lunged the puppet head forward and made it try to bite her. She slipped away from the bite and tried to get in a bite of her own. Jake wrestled her with everything he had, fighting to clamp his rex's plastic jaw around her neck. After practicing this so many times, she was swift and crafty. He couldn't quite get a hold of her.

"Remember, use your claws, but don't let it bite your arms," he coached.

He hardly had to coach her at all. Her claws were already shredding the plastic head. After a few quick bites and well-placed scratches, she seized the puppet's neck with her jaws and forced it to the ground, not letting go.

"Careful, not so hard," Jake warned. "My hand's still in there."

Hailstorm loosened her grip. Then she released the puppet, darted to the other side of Jake's arm and continued to subdue it with her jaws from behind. It was a swift, simple move that allowed her to avoid the T. rex's imaginary, thrashing legs.

"Don't kill it if you don't have to," Jake warned. "Just show it who's boss."

Hailstorm got up and backed away from the T. rex head. Jake lifted it and pointed it at her, as if it were staring her down. She did her best to read its body language for potential signs of attack. Again, Jake thrust the head at her.

 ***WHACK!***

In the blink of an eye, she had smacked it off his hand with her tail. His fingers stung with the force of the impact.

"Good," he commented. "That's enough. At ease."

She relaxed and watched as he picked up two of the stuffed toy raptors attached to broomsticks.

"Okay. Fight," he commanded.

She struck both of the raptors with a sweep of her tail. He moved them to surround her but she constantly re-positioned herself, making his attempts difficult. She often attacked with her tail, sometimes claws and seldom jaws. The spinning motion of the tail attacks would have made it hard for the raptors to attach to her, if they were real raptors.

He lifted the toy dinosaurs into the air and tried to put them on top of her.

"Raptors on your back. How do you fight 'em?" asked Jake.

Hailstorm vigorously rolled across the ground and the raptors were forced off her body. Then she stood with incredible speed, rushed to a wall and turned to face the imaginary raptors. It seemed as if she had cornered herself, but with a wall behind her the raptors could not attack from the back. It was a clever, strategic move.

"Good, very good," Jake praised. "At ease."

Once again she relaxed.

He dropped the raptor toys and picked up a foam-padded bat. "Okay, ankylosaurus. Fight."

She rushed towards him but drew back just as he swung his bat. She baited him, coming just close enough for him to try to hit her but far enough to move away in time. She was saving her energy. He was wasting his. He swiped his bat over and over until his swipes grew slower. Finally, she rushed in after a swing of the bat and toppled him over with her head. Placing a foot on top of him, she made sure that he would not get up.

Jake grinned. "Excellent, simply excellent."

The electronic door hissed open and Henry Wu stepped in, giving a slow clap of admiration.

"I've been watching you on the surveillance cameras," the Asian scientist explained.

"So you were in the observation room?" asked Jake. "Then how did you get here so quickly?"

Henry raised his tablet for Jake to see. "I can access the cameras with this. You know how anything can be portable these days."

Jake nodded.

"So, what is it you hope to accomplish with these … toys?" asked Henry Wu.

"Simulated combat," Jake explained. "What I do with these 'toys' represents potential, real-life scenarios. I'm testing her ability to learn to fight other dinosaurs."

"And why is that?" asked Henry.

Jake gestured Hailstorm. "Look at her. She's unusual – teachable, easy to get along with yet undeniably dangerous. Just think, what if one of the more unfriendly dinosaurs escaped and rampaged across the island? What if no one could stop it?"

"We have the non-lethal weapons to do the job," Henry stated.

"Yeah, but that's just it," Jake continued. "Non-lethal weapons aren't gonna work on a raging tyrannosaurus, but you're not gonna want to kill it either. It costs too much money. What if _she_ could fight it? What if she could beat it at its own game, _without_ killing it?"

Henry rubbed his chin in thought. "That is … certainly a prospect worth considering."

"Most of the larger, more dangerous dinosaurs on Isla Nublar don't hunt in packs," Jake added. "However, Hailstorm's one of the few exceptions. She's a social, like a raptor. If she were to work with her sister, I imagine nothing would be able to overpower-"

Henry interrupted. "You know I can't let you have her sister."

"Why not?" asked Jake.

"She's already displaying antisocial tendencies," Henry explained.

"That's because she's alone," Jake stated, "and whatever you're doing to her, it's not helping."

"What are you insinuating?" asked Henry.

A shade of seriousness nuanced Jake's friendly personality. "I can hear her screams at night through the ventilation system. Her screams wake up Hailstorm, and Hailstorm is very concerned."

" _Hailstorm_ is _concerned?"_ Henry asked incredulously. "I can't believe you. An I. rex doesn't scream. It's not a person. You need to stop looking at these animals and seeing them for what they're not."

"Dr. Wu," Jake continued in his gently persuasive manner, "what are you doing to Firestorm?"

" **That's none of your business,"** the scientist asserted. "If you didn't want to get attached to her, you shouldn't have named her."

"She was my charge," Jake explained.

"Well, she's not your charge anymore," Henry proclaimed.

Henry didn't notice, but Hailstorm looked devastated. She didn't understand all the words they were using, but she knew enough to know that Henry didn't want to give her back her sister.

"If the noise is disturbing the subject – I mean 'Hailstorm', then we'll work on soundproofing the room," Henry offered. "You spend days at a time with her. She doesn't need her sister. You're all the social life she requires."

The young I. rex lowered her head slightly. It was a sign of hopelessness.

"Anyway, let's move on to more constructive subjects," Henry declared. "From the looks of it, you've got Hailstorm eating out of your hand. I'm very impressed, though I do have one concern: this I. rex is not scary."

Jake froze and furrowed his brow in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"She's not scary," Henry repeated. "Most of the predators here are like thunderstorms: they growl, they snap, they do things that make you jump out of your skin as if you've seen a lightning bolt and heard its boom. I'm supposed to be afraid of coming anywhere near Hailstorm, but here I am in her paddock, and I don't get so much as a chill. **I'm** _ **comfortable!**_ I'm not _ **supposed**_ to be comfortable around her! Kids these days? They don't want to see Barney the big, friendly dinosaur. They want to see something scary."

Jake cracked a grin and nodded. "Hailstorm? Show him 'scary'."

In an instant, she transformed into a completely different creature. Her feral eyes fixed on Henry Wu, sending icy shivers down the man's spine. Then she darted into the bushes and vanished.

"W-where is she?" asked Henry.

"Try looking behind you," Jake suggested.

Henry felt hot breath on his back. He slowly turned to see a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth grinning up at him. That mouth opened and released a nightmarish roar that sent shockwaves of terror through his body.

" **Stop! Stop! You've made your point!"** Henry shouted in panic.

" **Hailstorm, at ease."** Jake commanded, quietly but firmly.

The dinosaur immediately returned to her normal self. A glint of mischief was in her eye as she trotted back to Jake's side. It almost seemed as though she were holding back a laugh, due to Henry's reaction.

"Okay, I get it," Henry declared, still breathing hard from the fright. "She is obedient, but she's scary when you want her to be."

"There we go! Everyone's happy, right?" Jake stated jokily.

Henry gave a nervous nod. "Right."

With quick steps, he hustled for the door, casting Hailstorm a wary glance over his shoulder every now and then.

The door hissed shut behind Henry, and once again Jake and Hailstorm were alone.

Remembering her concern for her sister, the young I. rex's spirits dropped. She released a long, mournful moan. In its own way, it sounded like crying, and that's exactly what it was. It just about broke Jake's heart.

"Hey, Hailey, don't worry," Jake comforted. "We've been training for this. It doesn't matter what Henry says. One way or another, we're gonna get your sister."


	3. Chapter 3: Saving Firestorm

**By the way, there's a link between this requested story and Jurassic Park: The Unseen Element (the other JP fanfic I wrote). You could say that they take place in the same, alternate universe. Can you figure out what the link is?**

 **Thanks for reading, and enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 3

Saving Firestorm

Hailstorm slipped out of Jake's bunker through one of the windows at the back. From there, she slowly crawled across the ground. As she did so, her scales constantly changed colour to camouflage with her surroundings. Crawling eliminated most of her shadow, making her invisible to the paddock's cameras - at least, almost invisible. A small camera and communication device were strapped to her head, but even so they bore a camouflage pattern. No one would see on the surveillance cameras unless they looked very, very closely.

Jake watched her progress from within his bunker, seeing from her perspective on his computer's monitor with the camera he had attached.

* * *

"Not so fast," Jake warned. "You gotta give your scales time to camo or you're gonna show up on the cams."

* * *

Hailstorm reached her destination: a ventilation channel at the base of the wall, conveniently tucked away behind a plant. The channel was blocked by a grill, of course. Over time, she had loosened it. She would never have been able to figure out how to do so, had Jake not told her. After yanking at the vent for a few moments, she removed the grill, entered and pulled it back into place.

The vents were not designed in such a way that she could use them to get straight to her sister. In fact, there was no way for her to escape through them at all, at least without a little help. That help came in the form of a rope Jake had dropped down a shaft leading to the surface. Lacking the dexterity of a human being, she could not quite climb the rope with her claws. Instead, she bit it, pulled herself higher with her neck, braced herself against the sides of the shaft with her feet and back and repeated the process.

After about ten minutes, she arrived at the top of the shaft and removed the grill with her head, climbing out into a new paddock. Her neck was sore, but she couldn't care less when she emerged from the vent and was greeted by the sight of the beautiful blue sky, broken by overhanging bushes. She breathed a lung-full of fresh air and savoured the scents of the outside world. After being there, she never wanted to return to her paddock. Jake figured that out, so he reassured her.

* * *

"Don't worry," Jake began. "You'll be able to enjoy the outside world a lot more very soon. Just camouflage and watch your back. You don't wanna get blindsided by-"

* * *

Suddenly, the camera perspective careened sideways as Hailstorm was knocked to the ground.

* * *

"Never mind," Jake stated.

* * *

Hailstorm got to her feet, shook off the blow and faced her attacker – a juvenile ankylosaur. The armoured creature bellowed irritably and swung its club-like tail again and again. She baited it and drew back before every attack, just as she had practiced with Jake.

* * *

"Whoa, whoa, you're drifting from the blind spot," Jake warned. "Stay under that patch of bush and the cameras won't catch you."

* * *

Suddenly, she heard voices outside the paddock.

"From the sound of it, I'm guessing little Anky's in one of her moods," an employee commented.

"Is she ever _ **not**_ in one of her moods?" asked another employee.

"Ha ha! You have a point," the first man acknowledged. "Still, I think she's hungry. We'll fix that right up."

"They're coming to the paddock," Jake declared softly but urgently. "You gotta act fast."

The ankylosaur swung at her once again but she caught its tail in her jaws.

"Hm. Never taught her that one," Jake muttered.

Hailstorm released the tail and toppled the creature onto its back. A second later, the employees entered the hall beside the paddock, separated by a glass wall. Though she had already hidden among the plants, the meager bushes were not enough to fully conceal her from their viewpoints. Luckily, her camouflaging skin did the rest of the job.

The men took one look at the ankylosaur and shook their heads.

"Why does she always end up on her back like that?" one asked.

"'Cause she's a dumb animal, that's why," the other answered. "C'mon. Let's get the fodder. At least we can feed her without worrying about getting our teeth knocked out this time. She'll find her way onto her feet eventually."

The moment the men disappeared into the back room, Hailstorm crawled across the ground, camouflaging all the while. She had to move quickly. Jake only hoped that her colour-changing scales were enough to keep her off the radar.

Luckily, this paddock was built for ankylosaur juveniles who were neither big enough to get over the walls nor agile enough to scale them. That made it easy for her to leap onto the side of the concrete barrier and pull herself to the top.

She froze, noticing more employees milling about outside the paddocks. They hadn't seen her, so she tried her best to camouflage with the sky as she darted to the taller wall of the next paddock. After scaling that wall, she tumbled into the new habitat and landed with a thump.

The paddock's four, sleeping inhabitants awoke at the sound of her landing. They were velociraptors, Owen's pack to be exact.

By the time the raptors had raised their heads and looked around, Hailstorm had already camouflaged into the bushes and the ground on which she lay. After scanning their surroundings for a time and not spotting her, the velociraptors lost interest and settled down to return to their slumber. However, one raptor with blue, horizontal marks streaking across her sides began to sniff the air. The others noticed what she was doing and followed her example, picking up Hailstorm's scent.

The pack got to their feet and stepped towards the hidden I. rex. When they reached her, they still couldn't quite tell what she was. Staying perfectly still, she looked like an oddly shaped clump of dirt and plant life.

Blue, the pack beta, snarled at Hailstorm.

The I. rex did not respond.

The pack exchanged glances, confused. If they were dealing with a living creature, they expected it to react to the snarl. Given that it didn't, they were inclined to believe that it wasn't a living creature. However, it certainly smelled like a lifeform. Their noses did not lie.

Delta began to nibble at Hailstorm's tail. The I. rex stifled a yelp, but the raptors heard it all the same. To top it off, she lost focus on camouflaging and her skin returned to its natural, snowy hue.

In the next moment, most of the pack was on Hailstorm's back, biting and scratching. She removed them with a vigorous roll and was on her feet in two twos. The pack rushed in for another attack.

 ***WHACK!***

Most of them had avoided Hailstorm's tail strike, except Charlie, who was knocked away by the impact.

The raptors attempted to force Hailstorm away from the wall so as to surround her, but she refused to budge. Her swinging tail kept them at bay but they were trickier targets than the toy raptors Jake had used to train her.

Echo pounced at Hailstorm's head, only to get thrown back by a head-butt. Hailstorm pretended not to see Delta charging at her side until she swatted the raptor with her tail. However, Charlie completely escaped Hailstorm's notice, pouncing onto her other flank, clinging on and clawing for payback. The pack converged and once again they were all over Hailstorm. Disoriented but determined, the I. rex tore them from her hide with another roll.

Blue gave a barking call, commanding the pack to fall back.

The raptors moved away from Hailstorm, panting. The I. rex felt like panting herself, but she didn't want to give the raptors the impression that she was tiring. That would have encouraged them to attack before she could catch her breath.

Delta snapped at Blue and snarled, voicing her irritation at the fact that Blue had told them to stop.

Blue cackled her response, explaining that their prey had fought them to a stalemate and that they would have to revise their tactics.

Much to Hailstorm's surprise, she could understand everything they communicated.

Hailstorm growled, proclaiming that she was not their prey.

They silently stared at her, shocked that she could speak their tongue.

Hailstorm released a string of vocalisations, explaining that she was just passing through and would be out of their hair in no time.

Delta snapped at her, refusing to cooperate.

Twittering, Blue asked why they should let her pass through their territory.

Hailstorm stopped to think. Her hesitation caused Delta and Charlie to grow restless.

The I. rex gave a rumbling coo, asking the raptors if there was anything from the outside world that they would like her to retrieve for them.

The velociraptors exchanged chitters of interest, clearly excited about Hailstorm's offer. They all began to request various things, from meals they had seen the employees eat to demanding that Hailstorm drag in the employees themselves (specifically the ones they did not like). In a nutshell, every request involved food. Hailstorm began to regret making her offer. There was no way that she could bring them everything they wanted, and some of their demands involved things she wouldn't bring, even if she could.

Hailstorm interrupted the young raptors with her cackles and coos, describing the taste of something Jake would bring her as a treat. Something packed with irresistably salty flavour – bacon. She asked if they would like her to get some for them.

The raptors gave their resounding agreement. Charlie was already drooling over the taste she had described. As aggravating as the raptors were, Hailstorm enjoyed conversing with these creatures that readily understood her. Besides, she found them adorable in their own way.

Hailstorm gave a pleasant coo: a sound that signified an invitation to friendship.

Delta growled, rejecting Hailstorm's sociability. In other words, "I don't like you, so don't get all friendly with me."

When the raptor emphasised her statement by biting at Hailstorm, the I. rex gave a deep, rumbling growl. She had had enough of Delta's attitude and was telling the raptors to back off.

Delta got the message and jumped away.

Blue gave a slight coo of amusement and muttered something about liking Hailstorm's company, since the bigger dinosaur could help keep Delta in line.

Did this mean that Blue was Hailstorm's friend? The I. rex certainly hoped so, but she didn't have any more time to waste. She had to complete her mission.

Hailstorm's skin changed to match the earthy tones of the paddock's floor, drawing impressed coos from some of the raptors. She crawled across the ground, using the cover of the bushes to make herself even more tricky for the cameras to spot. However, the fact that the raptors were following and staring at something invisible looked very suspicious on the surveillance screens, she thought. Hailstorm asked them to pretend she wasn't there until she reached the other side of the paddock, if they wanted her to follow through with the deal. Unwilling to miss the chance to eat bacon, they moved away from her but followed at a distance nonetheless, casting her the occasional glance.

After reaching the blind spot near the wall, she said goodbye with a cooing grunt.

Echo mockingly repeated Hailstorm's grunt over and over and over, taunting her on the fact that even though she said goodbye, there was no way out of the paddock.

Hailstorm ignored Echo and looked to the top of the wall. Blue followed her gaze, noticing a short rope that hadn't been there before (courtesy of Jake).

The I. rex leaped, bit the tip of the rope and pulled it down as she fell, revealing that it was longer than it looked, complete with several big knots tied at crucial points for footholds. Hailstorm climbed the rope like a parrot, clinging with her claws and pulling herself higher with her jaws. Once she reached the top, Delta approached the rope to try to climb it but Hailstorm quickly yanked it out of reach.

Blue gave a barking call and gestured to the ground with her head, asking Hailstorm to drop the rope to them.

The I. rex apologised with a sheepish coo, refusing to drop the rope, as that was not the agreement.

Then they watched in surprise as Hailstorm proceeded to cut the rope with her teeth and hurriedly eat it. Luckily, it was made of leather (something her freakishly powerful, hyena-like stomach could digest). Jake had thought of everything. Now that she had consumed the rope, she had destroyed the evidence of his helping her escape.

Charlie gave Blue a grumpy, growling coo, stating that perhaps they should have asked Hailstorm to help them escape instead of requesting food.

Blue agreed with a grunt of acknowledgement.

Hailstorm knew that the raptors were not happy about being left behind. On the other hand, she felt proud of herself for being able to negotiate with them. It seemed the hardest part of the mission was behind her, so she complacently leaped into the bushy blind spot in the other paddock.

* * *

"Whoa, did you make sure you knew where Empress was before leaping in there?" asked Jake.

* * *

Hailstorm had forgotten to check, but now she knew Empress's exact location, mostly because she had landed on the sleeping T. rex hidden in the bushes.

The tyrannosaur awoke and thrashed about, throwing off the I. rex with a roar of outrage. A juvenile, Empress was roughly Hailstorm's size. When Rexy's time finally came, Empress would replace her as the T. rex attraction of Jurassic World, provided nothing happened to her before then (hint, hint).

As her name suggested, Empress had the attitude of someone with the utmost authority (the tyrannical kind). Luckily, Hailstorm was trained for this.

The two rexes clashed within the bushes. Hailstorm had the upper hand, striking with her claws and using the bushes to shield herself from Empress's jaws. That changed when the raptors interrupted her.

Charlie cackled from the other paddock, asking when Hailstorm would be back with their treat, and how much bacon she would be bringing.

With Hailstorm distracted, Empress took the opportunity to latch onto her arm.

The I. rex gave a pained screech and called back her response, explaining that she is too busy to talk.

Empress yanked Hailstorm closer, released her arm and snapped her jaws around her neck.

Delta answered with a snarl, telling Hailstorm that she'd better not let Empress kill her, otherwise they would not get their bacon.

Suffocating under the force of Empress's bite, Hailstorm could not respond. To say the least, she found Delta's insensitive demand rather vexing.

The more Hailstorm struggled, the harder Empress bit her. Realising that was the case, Hailstorm decided to stop struggling and relax. As a result, Empress slackened her grip after a few agonising moments. Then Hailstorm quickly slipped out of bite and sent the T. rex reeling with a whip of the tail. After bombarding Empress with clawed melee, Hailstorm threw her to the ground with her jaws.

Dazed, the T. rex could do nothing but watch as the I. rex held her down with her fore limbs. Hailstorm's instincts and anger urged her to finish the job, but after a few moments' hesitation she released the defeated dinosaur.

The I. rex stepped back as the T. rex got up and glared at her. Hailstorm stood there awkwardly, hoping that Empress would understand that she did not want to fight. Luckily, the tyrannosaur recognised her act of mercy and walked away, respecting the I. rex.

Hailstorm immediately crawled across the ground, cloaking and hiding among the bushes. She headed for a tree at the edge of the next blind spot, just where Jake told her it would be. Standing between the tree and the wall, she lowered herself in preparation. Then she exploded into the air, kicked off the tree with her feet, twisted midair and grabed the top of the wall with her claws. She nearly slipped and fell, but managed to pull herself to the top and rest there for a few moments. The T. rex looked up at her in surprise. Perhaps Empress was wondering if she could do what the I. rex did, Hailstorm thought. The answer was simple: with those absurdly diminutive arms, not in a million years. Hailstorm herself wouldn't have been able to do it if Jake hadn't taught her how. It reminded her of … what did the humans call it? Parkour. She had seen him watching people on his laptop, springing, climbing, running, rolling across rooftops as they practiced parkour and made the cities their playgrounds. She had tried to mimic their moves herself, but her body was not built for most of what they did. Nonetheless, her embarrassing attempts had given Jake the idea to teach her the trick she had used to leap the wall. It was just what they needed to complete their plan.

She walked across the rooftop, searching for the vent that would take her to her sister. Much to her confusion, the roof was covered in vines that crept about the building. She had seen them before in traces throughout the other paddocks, but never in such a plenteous quantity. Suddenly, a familiar scent flitted through her nostrils. It was brief, but long enough for her to identify.

It was Firestorm.

She searched for the scent, found it once again and followed it to what appeared to be another section of floor covered in vines. Confused, she scratched at the floor and discovered that the plants were concealing a ventilation grill.

Proud of herself for her discovery, she quickly tore through the grill, which was not nearly as tough as the ones in her paddock. After all, who would come to the top of the roof to tresspass through such a well-hidden vent?

In her excitement, she leaped down the shaft, forgetting about the consequences of such a drop. Digging her claws into the metal wall, she slowed her descent with a skin-crawling screech until she came to a stop. Relieved, she relaxed and looked down – the tunnel bent just beneath her, forming a horizontal stretch. Had she fallen a little further, the landing would have been very unpleasant.

* * *

"Okay, that was … nerve-racking," Jake stated. "Someone may or may not have heard you. They'll probably just assume something's wrong with the vents, but I suggest you stay cautious and try not to make too much noise from here on."

* * *

Hailstorm nodded and attempted to turn around so that she could enter the horizontal tunnel. It was difficult, given the tight space with which she had to work. Her tail did not make matters easier either. After about a minute, she realised that she was stuck.

With a constricting sense of anxiety in her chest, and she whimpered a quiet, barking call, asking Jake for help.

* * *

"C'mon. Don't worry. You can do it," he calmly encouraged, though even he was worried that she could be jammed for good.

* * *

Thirty seconds passed and finally she managed to reposition herself to enter the tunnel.

* * *

"Yes!" Jake cheered. "Great work, Hail!"

* * *

She crawled through the channels with newfound confidence, following Firestorm's scent. As she drew near, she could smell signs of damaged tissue and spilt body fluids belonging to her sister. Chills of trepidation slithered up and down her spine as she thought about Firestorm's possible condition.

Finally, she found the grill above the room that held Firestorm. After sniffing and listening for human presence, she determined that the coast was clear. Of course, she could smell the fact that Henry Wu had frequented the area, but he was obviously not around at the time.

Hailstorm shoved the grill with her nose and it fell to the ground. She eased herself through the hole as far as she could, clinging to the edge with her forelimbs before dropping and landing in a stumble.

The I. rex quickly evaluated the room. There were workstations; operating tables; containment chambers with glass walls and so on. She could not identify most of the things she saw, except one thing in particular.

It made her gasp.

She rushed over to a bin full of white, I. rex skins much like hers. Many of the skins were scarred in various ways – fatally scarred. She was stunned and confused. Each skin smelled like Firestorm, but last she checked, I. rexes had only one skin, and that skin was pretty firmly fixed to their bodies. What had caused Firestorm to produce multiple skins, and why wasn't she still attached to any of them? More importantly, what had removed her skin from her body? Hailstorm backed away, shaking her head as if she could throw the horrific thoughts from her mind by doing so. One thing was certain: if Firestorm had produced this many skins, she would have had to be alive to do it.

* * *

Jake's jaw hung loose with shock. "Hailstorm, I think you should hide. I'll try to get over there so I can help you finish the mission. You can't afford to get caught. Whatever happened to your sister, I don't want it to happen to you."

* * *

Hailstorm ignored him and tentatively trotted alongside the containment chambers.

* * *

"Hailstorm? Listen to me," he firmly commanded.

* * *

Even though she didn't understand all the details of the plan, she knew enough to know that everything would likely fall apart if he came to her aid. He was reacting emotionally and irrationally to the situation, she thought. Then again, perhaps she was being the emotional and irrational one. After all, he understood what they were doing more than she did. She pushed that possibility out of her mind and continued to search for her sibling. Thus, Jake was forced to stay at his laptop and continue to coach her.

Suddenly, Hailstorm froze mid-step.

Lying, curled up in the corner of a chamber was Firestorm. Much to Hailstorm's surprise, her sister was completely free of any sign of injury. In fact, her skin carried more luster than ever, like polished pearl. At first, Hailstorm assumed that her sibling was sleeping. Then she noticed that her amber eyes were open, unblinking, fixed on her with a vacant, soulless stare that broke Hailstorm's heart. The sisters had always been like ice and flame – while Hailstorm was even-tempered and sociable, Firestorm was a spirited ball of energy, nearly untamable but a loving sibling nonetheless. At least, that's what Hailstorm remembered. It had been so long since they saw each other. Gone was the lively energy in Firestorm's eyes. Externally, she looked perfectly fine, but she was a husk, an empty shell, a ghost of her past self.

Hailstorm's eyes fervently darted to the keypad that would open Firestorm's chamber. She tried her best to remember the code Jake gave her and tried even harder to punch in the correct letters and numbers with her clumsy claws: A … 1 … 1 … 3 … X. That last letter was a mistake.

"ACCESS DENIED," the keypad stated with a computerised voice.

Her patience worn thin, Hailstorm tore the pad from the wall with her jaws. Surprisingly, her crude technique worked. The glass barrier rose and Firestorm was free. However, Firestorm didn't seem to care. She simply continued to stare at Hailstorm in the exact same way she had since her sister arrived.

Hailstorm cocked her head in perplexity, then gave a barking call, inviting Firestorm to follow her.

No reply. No reaction.

Repeating the barking call, Hailstorm motioned with her head, gesturing for Firestorm to come with her. The moment she had turned her head to gesture, something slammed into her with impossible speed. She found herself sprawled on the ground. She looked up, her ice-blue eyes frozen and fixed on the blazing, yellow eyes of the I. rex who pinned her. Firestorm's glare was like an inferno. Hailstorm could hardly believe this was her sibling, but it was. She could see her sister's old, fiery personality in her eyes, but the fire was amplified a million times. It no longer brought warmth. It only bore white-hot heat, hot enough to kill.

Hailstorm attempted to release a questioning chitter, but the sound died in her throat as she choked in abject shock. Her sister was eerily patient, waiting for her to ask her question while burning holes into Hailstorm's soul with her glare.

Hailstorm finally managed to chitter her question, asking why? Why was Firestorm doing this? She began to explain that she and Jake were helping her escape.

Firestorm interrupted her with a growl like the rumble of a wildfire, stating that it was already too late. _**Far**_ too late. The livid I. rex used her voice to sketch a photographic description: a vague idea of what had happened to her.

Hailstorm writhed and whimpered upon hearing the nightmarish things that Firestorm described. It was almost too much to imagine.

Releasing a snarl, Firestorm silenced her sister's wimpers and told her that it could have been her who was forced to endure the nightmare – it _**should**_ have been her, but Hailstorm got to live her nice, rosy life while the sister she claimed to love lived in anguish.

Hailstorm cooed a heartfelt apology and then reasoned that Firestorm was still alive, promising that better days were ahead of her.

Firestorm disagreed, stating that it was too late: she was already dead. Her own screams echoed in her mind and her past pain still spiked through her nerves. She explained that she had tasted the brink of death countless times and been forced to somehow recover, but she hadn't truly recovered. She would never forget. Her wounds had destroyed her former self. Her pain would follow her forever, fresh as it had been when she first experienced it, and it would all be Hailstorm's fault.

Hailstorm was about to tell her sister that she was not dead. She could heal. All she needed was time and love. If Firestorm thought she was dead, Hailstorm would have promised to love her sister back to life.

However, Hailstorm didn't have the chance.

* * *

Jake's muscles went taut with horror as he heard Firestorm's jaws doing horrible, horrible things.

He closed the laptop and sprang from his chair, just as Henry's voice fizzed through his handheld transceiver.

" **Jake? Do you hear me?"** asked the scientist in a feverish panic.

"Huh? Uh, yeah," Jake confirmed, faking a groggy voice.

" **Do you have any idea where Hailstorm is?"** the scientist inquired.

Jake's heart pounded but he remained calm, which was one of his specialties. "I was sleeping, I dunno. I think she's outside the bunker."

 **"I see her on surveillance!"** Henry shouted. " **She's with her sister! HER SISTER IS** _ **EATING**_ **HER** **!"**

* * *

 **The visceral situation unfolding between Hailstorm and Firestorm is somewhat influenced by Helen and Amanda's situation in the Nikita episode, "Broken Home".**

 **Like I said in Jurassic Park: The Unseen Element, the fact that I'm referencing Nikita does not mean that I approve of everything that happens in the TV series. There are aspects I admire and enjoy, and aspects that I don't think were necessary. For better or worse, it's PG-13 stuff.**

 **Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. So far, what do you of Hailstorm's portrayal? Did you see the twist with Firestorm coming? What do you think will happen next? Have you figured out the link between Jurassic Park: The Unseen Element and this story?**

 **Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Utahraptor Factor

**The last chapter seems to have led to some misconceptions about the direction of this story, but that's perfectly understandable. After all, things are not always as they seem and the story is still developing.**

 **By the way, Leviathan, your review was quite thorough and intelligent** **! The "twist" I was referring to was the fact that in the movie, we know that the I. rex ate her sister. Even though this is an alternate universe where things play out differently, it would seem that the demise of the sister is somehow reenacting itself in this story. I thought the best way to respond would be to post the next chapter and add some closure to the matters at hand.**

 **NOTE: This chapter has been tweaked based on review.**

 **Thanks for reading, everyone!**

* * *

Chapter 4:

The Utahraptor Factor

Hailstorm opened her eyes. At first, fuzziness marred her vision. This was not new. She had been slipping in and out of consciousness for the past several minutes. Her mind swam in a sea of dizziness, its waves scattering her memories like little crabs avoiding the water at the ocean's edge. She felt lighter, but that didn't make it any easier to get up. Some parts of her were racked with pain unlike anything she had ever felt. Other parts, she couldn't even feel at all. Those parts concerned her the most … It was almost as if …

It was almost as if they weren't there.

* * *

Henry Wu checked the surveillance cameras on his tablet once again.

Security seldom monitored the room where he kept Firestorm. The area was so restricted that they didn't see the need to bother – just the way he liked it. He preferred to keep prying eyes from this particular project of his. However, they were alerted when the keypad controlling the door to Firestorm's containment unit was destroyed, thanks to Hailstorm.

On his tablet, he could see every corner of the room, even in infrared when he pleased. He saw Hailstorm lying on the ground, or at least what remained of her. Firestorm had left her looking half dinosaur, half eaten carcass.

But where was Firestorm?

Neither the cameras nor the infrared sensors could find her. After doing what she did to Hailstorm, she simply vanished. That stood to reason that whatever means Hailstorm had used to enter the area, Firestorm had taken advantage of it to escape. That spelled disaster. He knew all too well that Firestorm was a broken creature. As such, her most natural inclination would be to break everyone and everything she met.

Four members of the security team stood ahead of Henry, all armed with tranquilising guns.

"Have you located the subject?" asked the head of security.

"It appears to have escaped," Henry declared. "No visual, no heat signature. Let's move in. Do a sweep. See what we can find."

* * *

Hailstorm began to remember what had happened to her. Her sister had … had … had … She couldn't bring herself to fully acknowledge what had happened.

Where was Firestorm?

Somewhere … Somewhere near. Hailstorm could smell her, but her sister was completely silent. That silence seemed somehow purposeful. Predatory.

Firestorm was hunting, but what was she hunting?

Seconds later, the room door hissed open and Henry Wu entered with the guards. The armed men instinctively trained their weapons on Hailstorm when she began to release croaky squawks with a sense of urgency. The guards turned away their guns and briefly marveled at her shocking condition. Of course, they knew that she wasn't a threat. Still, for some reason, her squawks disturbed them.

Henry walked roughly at the centre of the men as they examined the area. They followed the trail of blood left by Firestorm as she moved away from her wounded sister, and that trail stopped under … no …

Impossible …

Above the trail was the broken vent through which Hailstorm had entered, but it was so high. So out of reach.

"Could the subject actually get up there?" asked one of the guards.

"It depends," the head of security answered.

"On what?" the first guard inquired.

"On what kind of dinosaur the good doctor cooked up," the head responded.

Criticism nuanced the guard's voice, and Henry knew why. If he had created a "monster" capable of escaping such an inescapable enclosure, then whatever harm it would cause, wherever it was, he was to blame.

He shook his head in an apathetical attempt to dismiss the guilt. "She couldn't have escaped through the vent. There had to be some other way."

"There _is_ no other way!" the head of security declared.

Hailstorm caused them to jump with a long squawk that demanded attention.

"Ignore her," Henry instructed. "She's merely reacting to the pain."

"But she only started 'reacting' when we when we _**got**_ here!" argued one of the guards. "It's almost like she's- _**AAUGH!"**_

He dropped his gun as a pair of jaws shot around his wrist, rendering him unable to use the weapon. Scarcely had his gun hit the ground before another guard's wrist had been bitten, forcing him to drop his tranquiliser as well.

The last two guards opened fire but the attacker, ablur with blinding speed, hid behind one of the guards it had bitten as he staggered in pain. The tranquilising darts met his skin and he began to collapse, just as the dinosaur behind him threw him forward with a powerful shove of the head. The closest guard jumped back as the limp body fell at his feet, but it never would have hit him. It was just a distraction that bought the dinosaur time as she streaked to the second closest guard and felled him with a pounce.

She turned on the last guard, but he had gathered his wits enough to take aim and …

*ptoom!*

He had launched a tranquiliser dart.

She knew the function of his weapon. Such devices had been used to subdue her before, but now she was worlds faster, and she owed it all to Henry Wu. With seemingly impossible swiftness, she had begun to evade the shot even before it was released. It glanced off her hide. Apparently, she wasn't fast enough to dodge it altogether, but the needle never quite connected with her flesh. Given another chance, the guard would have nailed the shot.

However, he did not have another chance.

His gun fired fruitlessly into the ceiling as his arms flailed. She had lunged into his torso and when his head hit the ground, all went black.

Firestorm stood atop the felled human and gazed about at her handiwork. Much to her gratification, everyone in the room was either injured or unconscious.

Except Henry Wu.

The I. rex slowly stepped towards him, a purr throbbing in her throat as she relished the terror painted on his face. He backed away equally slowly, knowing that running would prompt her to use her hopelessly superior speed. But what else was he to do? Simply allow her to exact her revenge?

Suddenly, Firestorm's attention was diverted to something behind him.

A moment later, Hailstorm limped into his peripheral vision. He was shocked that she could walk in her condition, but why was she walking past him? What she did next caused his mind to spin.

She stood between Henry and the vengeful I. rex.

Firestorm's jaws parted as she attempted to vocalise, but shock crippled her voice. Once shock turned to indignation, released a livid snarl, followed by cackles as intricate as any language.

Henry had no idea what Firestorm was communicating, but whatever it was, it caused Hailstorm to turn to him with an icy glare that he would never forget. Then it clicked. After all, the I. rexes were infused with the traits of creatures that could communicate with extreme detail. Firestorm had probably told Hailstorm what he had done to her. If any trace of a sisterly bond remained between them, Hailstorm would be inclined to let Firestorm have her way. If not, the wounded Hailstorm still wouldn't have a chance against her sister. It would be much easier to simply stand aside and let Firestorm do as she pleased.

As the incensed I. rex continued to reason with her sister, Henry could see that Hailstorm was that close to agreeing with Firestorm.

Then Hailstorm's eyes seemed to soften somewhat. She stared at the ground, then the ceiling, as if searching for the solution to her conflicted thoughts.

Finally, the blue-eyed I. rex gave Henry a reassuring coo. Then she turned back to her sister and planted her feet firmly on the ground.

Engulfed in white-hot fury, Firestorm released a hair-raising wail before taking a menacing step forward.

*ptoom!*

Firestorm's eyes went wide. She looked back to see a dart protruding from her hide.

All eyes turned to an African American man at the door, his tranquilising gun still trained on Firestorm. The darted I. rex's fury melted to hurt. It was Jake, the closest thing to a father she ever had. In her twisted mind, Jake and Hailstorm had subjected her to a life of torture. Now, Jake was tranquilising her so that she would have to suffer _**more?**_

She snarled and rushed towards him, but her instincts impeded her speed. After all, she had imprinted on him at birth. Her instincts insisted that her sister was on her level and could thus be attacked, but he was her superior. Her alpha. As a result, her movements were almost half-hearted as she mentally battled the imprint. This inner skirmish made her sluggish enough for Jake to react to her.

 ***THUMP!***

She found herself splayed on the ground, struck in the muzzle by the butt of his gun. Normally, she would have been able to shake it off and get to her feet, but the tranquiliser was taking its toll.

Firestorm looked up at Jake with one last glare lathered in hurt and hate before her eyes closed uncontrollably.

* * *

Henry Wu sat on a gurney as he watched medics flit about the room, attending the wounded. He was shaking. He knew about Firestorm's increases in strength, speed, intelligence and ferocity, but she had done a good job at hiding the true extent of her capabilities … Until she thought no one could stop her. She was almost right about that – no one being able to stop her. If it weren't for Jake and Hailstorm, at that point, he would be lying on a gurney, not sitting. In fact, maybe not even that. Chances were the medics wouldn't get to collect his remains too quickly. Firestorm could have used her disappearing trick to hide from anyone who entered the room. By the time they realised what was going on, she could have escaped.

Henry looked at Hailstorm lying on the ground. She didn't move, hardly blinked. If not for her back steadily rising and falling, he might have wondered if she was dead. The medics ignored her, knowing that she was in no condition to harm them with her claws and teeth. A veterinarian had attended the wounded dinosaur. Not knowing what else to do, he applied pain-killers and antibiotics. Henry could tell from the look on his face that he didn't think she had a fighting chance of survival. However, the vet didn't know the ins and outs of what made an I. rex tick. He didn't know what Henry knew.

Jake sat beside Henry. Moments of uncomfortable silence passed and the scientist could feel Jake glaring daggers.

"Is there something you wish to say, Jake?" asked Henry.

Jake shrugged as he struggled to contain his anger. "To put things mildly, I'm worried about the I. rexes. Somehow, you've turned Firestorm into a raging monster while Hailstorm is sitting in a corner … dying … I hold you largely responsible for this development, since your actions led Firestorm to do what she did. Now, I am aware that you don't care about the 'subjects' from a sentimental perspective, but InGen has poured a lot of money into their well-being. That means they're worth a lot to you, so why did you damage Firestorm to the point where it all led to this?"

Henry gave Hailstorm a once-over, just as he had several times. "Perhaps this will ease your worries: Hailstorm's not dying."

Jake raised an eyebrow as his words almost choked in his throat. "Henry, she's missing a lot of biomass, from skin to muscle.."

"But her vital organs appear to be relatively intact," Henry argued.

Jake was appalled. "Even without the aforementioned issues, Hailstorm has lost a lot of blood. _Too_ much blood to-"

"Then why isn't she bleeding right now?" Henry interrupted.

Jake blinked in realisation before examining Hailstorm from that distance. Yes, she was wounded, but somehow her wounds were no longer bleeding. Had they coagulated? _All_ of them? This didn't make sense. At least a few important vessels had to have been severed. They shouldn't have coagulated until she was dead, but she wasn't dead. How was she not dead?

"Right now, I'm more concerned about how Hailstorm got to Firestorm," Henry declared. "How did she have the advanced know-how to escape _and_ enter such a restricted area without detection?"

Jake thought fast. "You and I both know that the I. rexes could hear each other through the ventilation system. Perhaps they communicated and hatched a plan, which ended in Firestorm's betrayal. Aside from that, they're hybrids. For all I know, they could have developed advanced echolocation or some other ability that allowed them to scope out a path to find each other."

Henry hesitated. "That is … a remote possibility, but viable considering the circumstances. After all, I had no idea that Firestorm could trick the cameras the way she did."

"Yet you seem to know that Hailstorm will survive," Jake remarked. "How can I be sure?"

Henry was about to tell Jake that he didn't have the clearance for that information. Then he caught sight of Jake's eyes. They bore a cool confidence and fiery fortitude that was somehow … familiar.

Then he understood.

Owen had spent 25% of his time with the raptors, tops. With the I. rexes, Jake had spent over 75%. He stayed with them for weeks after their birth. He slept in their presence, ate with them, played with them. Right until Firestorm was removed from his care, both I. rexes adored him. His every action was imprinted into their impressionable minds. Henry had sometimes complained that Hailstorm was too human, but she wasn't simply too human. She was too Jake. In some ways, the I. rexes were two sides of the same coin, and he was that coin. When Henry took Firestorm, he had taken something akin to a daughter. Now, _especially_ now, Jake was responding like a very self-controlled but equally angry father. That might have been very bad news for Henry.

The scientist's head tottered from side to side as he wondered if he should let Jake in on the secret of the I. rexes. Despite the confidentiality of that information, he figured that he owed Jake a few explanations. He glanced about to see if anyone was paying them any attention. The others were too far and too busy to hear or care about him and Jake. Good.

"Hailstorm and her sister are part utahraptor," Henry finally stated under his breath.

Jake furrowed his brow in confusion and responded with a similar whisper. "She's part utahraptor? What's the relevance of that?"

"There was never any genetic modification involved in the creation of the dinosaurs," Henry went on, even more quietly than before.

Now, Jake was more bewildered than ever. "But … the entire park relies on genetic modification. The original D.N.A. samples used to recreate the dinosaurs were incomplete, so the gaps had to be filled with foreign D.N.A. At least to some degree, _all_ of the dinosaurs here are hybrids, aren't they?"

"Yes … and no …" Henry continued. "Genetic modification tends to have unforeseen repercussions – not that what we do here doesn't have many risks as well. For instance, experiments have shown that for some reason, a starving rodent will instinctively chose natural produce over genetically modified produce, even in its desperation. That's just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many mistakes we can make with genetic modification that, I believe, could cause bigger problems than what happened in the first Jurassic Park. Regardless, we would have gone the route of genetic modification, if not for a promising alternative. What do you know about the Lysine Contingency?"

Jake furrowed his brow in thought. "Basically, all animals need lysine to survive. It's an essential amino acid. However, InGen's dinosaurs were made with a deliberate fatal flaw. They need much more lysine than the average animal. That way, if the dinosaurs somehow got loose, they would find it harder to live without the lysine supplements InGen fed them. But how is this relevant? _Everyone_ knows about the Lysine Contingency."

Henry shook his head. "No. They don't. They don't know the whole story. After isolating the utahraptor samples, we discovered that they were laced with unusual micro-structures. These structures were primarily composed of lysine. They are even smaller than viruses, but they can work together to combine and form strings of information."

"Like D.N.A.?" asked Jake.

"Yes, but they're clearly very different," Henry stated. "They're the closest thing to nanites I've ever seen."

"But a nanite is a man-made micro machine," Jake argued. "How can you say something natural is like a nanite?"

Henry explained. "Because they're almost nanometer-small, and they _still_ coordinate themselves with great competence. These 'lysites', as I often call them, can speak to the cells in their hosts' bodies and what do they tell them? To act like copycats, among other things. After reading the D.N.A. of other creatures, the lysites tell the cells to copy some of what they've read."

"How do they get the opportunity to 'read' other creatures' D.N.A.?" asked Jake.

"I'm sure you've heard the term 'you are what you eat'," Henry explained. "After reaching adulthood, some of the utahraptors we created started showing select traits of the creatures they ate. Sometimes, these traits were modified to suit new purposes. Other times, the lysites would simply enhance the utahraptors' natural abilities. One way or another, each utahraptor would develop one, often unique strength. Clearly the lysites were very flexible in what they did."

Jake gave a sceptical grunt. "So you infused all the dinos with an unpredictable, flexible bio-nanite that gives them, I dunno, _**any**_ ability under the sun? How is that better than genetic modification?"

"We created a synthetic substitute," clarified Henry. "It only instilled traits of specific creatures and stopped there, allowing us to fix the damage caused by D.N.A. gaps. If the dinosaurs can't eat enough lysine, the lysites in their bodies die out. If the lysites die out, the D.N.A. gaps take effect and the dinosaurs' body functions fall apart."

"So how does that help Hailstorm survive her wounds?" Jake inquired.

"Like you said, she's a hybrid," Henry stated. "She's more utahraptor than anything else we've created, aside from the utahraptors themselves, of course. As a result, her body's been tricked into creating lysites that behave more like the real thing."

"But that does not answer my question," Jake pressed. "Again, how does that help her?"

"Because the utahraptors are like _prehistoric phoenixes!"_ Henry exclaimed with a hint of enthusiasm simmering in his voice. "Their lysites do more than adopt foreign traits. With the right conditions, a utahraptor can recover from the edge of death over and over, shedding and replacing skin and other tissues, growing stronger every time. If we adapt this to humans, it could be _key_ to immortality! That's why I had to test the extent of this … this … utahraptor factor!"

Jake frowned. "So you tested Firestorm? Brought her to the edge of death over and over?"

Henry's growing enthusiasm was dampened. "Well, I couldn't exactly test it on a utahraptor. Their unpredictable strengths made them difficult to keep in captivity. That's why we never featured them in Jurassic World. Hailstorm and Firestorm's lysites were an accident, but I considered it ... a happy accident ..."

There was an uncomfortable pause. Henry knew what Jake was thinking, so he decided to put the man at ease.

"I have no desire to test Firestorm's lycite capabilities from now on," Henry stated. "For what it's worth, I apologise for what I did to Firestorm."

Jake nodded in response, but Henry had long lost his trust. He didn't think he'd be taking the doctor for his word any time soon.

* * *

Jake stared at Hailstorm.

She lay motionless at the side of his bunker. This wasn't the bunker he occupied when living in her paddock. It was the seldom-used, large off-road R.V. he occupied in the outside world. She wasn't supposed to be there, but he didn't care.

A large bowl of meat and similar bowl of water sat beside her, untouched.

"Hail, c'mon," Jake encouraged. "You gotta eat."

She made no effort to respond.

Jake went on. "You know what Henry says: if you don't eat-"

Hailstorm gave a light growl in response to hearing Henry's name. It was the only sound she had made for hours. He could imagine what was going through her head: replays and replays of what had happened, like a waking nightmare. In her intelligent mind, she wished that she could have done more for Firestorm, and was thinking up ways to have done so. However, her thoughts were fruitless. They couldn't change the past. In Jake's worried mind, he wished he could ease her tortured psyche. The best he could do was come up with half-baked plans to get her off this horrible island to a place where she could live a better life. But how?

Hailstorm raised her head slightly and sniffed the air. What did she smell?

Jake got up and looked out the window to see Claire approaching.

* * *

 **Again, thanks for reading!**

 **Does the "utahraptor factor" come off as a reasonable morsel of lore that links The Whisper and The Unseen Element? How does the pacing of the story work so far? Review and share your opinion.**


	5. Chapter 5: Dinner Date

**Before we begin, I'd like to note that the last chapter has been modified based on review. I also didn't feel satisfied with the "natite" lore, and modified it to involve the Lysine Contingency. If you don't feel like reading it over, no prob, but I should mention that the microscopic structures InGen used to create the dinosaurs in this story are now called "lycites", not "natites".**

 **By the way, if anyone is uncertain about Hailstorm's size, I had mentioned upon introducing her in Chapter 2 that she was a 4-foot-tall juvenile. However, I have changed that to 5 feet, which seems more believable considering the things she does at her age. It can be extrapolated that Firestorm is roughly the same size, though I'd say she's slightly smaller (not that it detracts her power).**

 **I also mentioned that the raptors were about 2 and a half feet long, but that seems a little small and says nothing about their heights. Let's just say they're 2 feet tall and you can imagine their lengths based on that.**

 **Embarrassingly, I accidentally stated in Chapter 1 that the juvenile spinosaurs are 4 METRES TALL! Man, that's a big boo boo. They're more like 4 feet tall – not as big as the I. rexes at this stage, but big enough to pose a threat.**

 **Anyway, on to the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 5

Dinner Date

Jake slightly stiffened, not out of indignation but rather trepidation. Claire was _here?_ Approaching his _R.V?_ Didn't she see the sign warning unwitting visitors to stay outside the fence? To be fair, there was only one sign, and most of the employees who entered the vicinity knew enough to be wary.

"Jake?" Claire called.

"Try to keep your voice down," he calmly called back.

She furrowed her brow and held her arms akimbo. "Well, that's a pretty curt thing to say. Why, pray tell, should I keep my voice down?"

The answer came bounding towards her in the form of two, massive cats: one, a mighty white tiger; the other, a sleek, black panther. Claire felt her blood run cold as the felines bounded towards her with kittenish curiosity melded with predatory intent. Then she heard it:

The Whisper.

 _~Luz. Noche,~_ came Jake's voice.

The cats stopped in their tracks, tails flicking in subdued excitement. They still wanted to pounce her, play with her, probably maul her, but Jake's words were like invisible leashes around their necks. His voice carried a peculiar quality – he projected so that it reached their ears and demanded full attention, yet it simultaneously soothed. There was no aggression; no hesitation; no way to ignore him or take offense. The phenomenon of The Whisper was something she would never have fully grasped until she experienced it firsthand.

The black panther inched forward.

 _~Noche. Hey,~_ Jake called once again.

The cat gave a whining protest but Jake ignored it. This wasn't a debate. His word was final.

Claire and Jake sat at on a wooden bench not far from his R.V. The big cats were there too, but they seemed more like dogs than cats as they lounged at Jake's side, frequently nuzzling him for the attention that he willingly gave. Jake's living area was well out of the way of the areas InGen wanted to develop in the foreseeable future. Thus, they saw no need to deny him the acres he desired as territory for his cats to roam. Luz and Noche were not the only felines in his care. She quickly became acquainted with a few others as they drew near to examine their visitor.

A spotted, ochre cat leaner and smaller than the bigger felines had the boldness to walk right up to her, stare her in the face, proceed to sniff and then give an affectionate, gentle head-butt.

"He's a plucky little cutie," Claire stated. "What is he?"

"A serval," Jake explained, "a kind of African wildcat. His name is Zephyr."

"I see," Claire acknowledged, before a nuance of thoughtfulness flickered across her face.

"What?" asked Jake.

She was taken off-guard. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"You were pondering something," he stated. "I mean, maybe it's none of my business, but I was just curious."

She cocked her head, squinting at him in surprise. Apparently, he was very good at reading her.

"Okay, you got me," she began to admit. "I was just wondering how you managed to get your cats on this island with no one noticing … or caring …"

Confused, he hesitated. "Uh, Simon Masrani knows, and all the higher-ups … and half the staff … and, at some point in time, you knew too."

She was mildly appalled. **"Why does everyone know what I supposedly know except** _ **me?"**_

"I literally have your signature on a piece of paper that gave me the consent to bring these animals here," he stated. "Owen offered to speak to the relevant parties and get things sorted out. Didn't he approach you on the subject?"

That did little to ease her perplexity. "No! He didn't! He never mentioned any big ca- wait a minute … Months ago, he told me one of the staff had a few, hefty pet cats he wanted to bring to Isla Nublar."

"'Hefty cat' isn't the same as 'big cat'," Jake stated with an edge of inquisitive scrutiny.

"I know, but I didn't think to question it any further," she stated. "I was very busy. He then asked me to sign a few papers of consent, for 'insurance' purposes. I did it without a second thought. Strange … I would have never agreed to that on a whim. The way he timed, it … it's almost as if he made sure I was too caught up in work to think to think about it before-"

She stopped herself and they both took a moment to digest the raptor trainer's clever little ploy.

" _Owennn,"_ Claire lightly growled, and she could tell from Jake's expression that he was thinking more or less the same thing. "He didn't need to trick me into signing those papers. I would have investigated the matter and approved the cats eventually … probably … okay, probably not. I still don't understand how it's possible for me to be so abjectly clueless about these things."

Jake shrugged. "You're just … engrossed in your diligence."

She shot a sharp look. "You mean I'm addicted to work."

He raised his hands in a calming gesture. "I didn't say that!"

"Mm hmm," she agreed sarcastically. "Well, I'll have you know that 'fun and relaxation' are very much on my itinerary."

"Oh yeah. Owen told me about that," Jake stated.

"First off, stop talking to Owen or you're fired," she declared. "Anyway, I''m thinking about travelling to the mainland this weekend to try out one of those more exotic restaurants. Of course, I never do that kind of thing alone."

"So you're taking Zara for a girls' night out?" Jake asked.

"Nope. Not this time," she answered.

"Maybe Lowery?" he went on.

" _Ew!_ No!" she exclaimed.

"How about Vic?" he questioned.

She stared as if to ask if he was for real.

Jake went on rapid-fire. "Barry? Nick? Jimmy Fallon? Hal Osterly? Ryan Crest? Spielberg? Your nephews, Zach and Gray?"

She tilted her head in question. "How on _Earth_ do you know about my neph- you know what? Never mind."

Jake raised a teasing eyebrow. _"Oooh,_ so you've decided to rekindle that old spark with Owen?"

" _ **You,**_ **Jake!"** Claire declared. **"I want to check out the restaurant with** _ **you!**_ _Seriously,_ are you always this adorably annoying?"

Jake grinned. "So, it's a date?"

"I don't know if you'd call it 'a date'," she stated. "Can't coworkers eat at a restaurant without it being a 'date'?"

"Yes," he agreed, "but when one's male, the other's female, and she calls the guy 'adorably annoying', it kind of sounds like it's leaning towards a date."

"You're just as bad as Owen," she stated. "So, do you accept?"

Jake's eyes darkened for a moment as he glanced back at the R.V. It took him a fraction of a second to notice a creature staring back at him from one of the windows – Hailstorm, camouflaged with the background. Her head was not one of the areas Firestorm's jaws had heavily affected. Thus, the only sign of her wounded condition was a touch of red on her temple. If not for the red, he might not have noticed her. Her silence and motionlessness was eerily disturbing. He told himself that she was in stealth mode – of _course_ she had to be still and quiet if she was to avoid Claire's eyes. There was nothing inherently disturbing about it. However, something had changed in his I. rex. Perhaps it was a short term aftereffect of the trauma, or perhaps it was something a little more long-lasting. He hoped she would be able to return to her normal, chirpy self in time. If she didn't, he wouldn't blame her.

Noticing his slight change in mood, Claire followed his gaze. However, her unresponsive body language told him that she hadn't spotted the I. rex. After all, she was unaware of Hailstorm's existence and capabilities. Looking out for a camouflaging dinosaur in Jake's home, or anywhere on the island, was not on her to-do list.

"So, when do you plan to go?" Jake quickly asked, trying to distract her from asking what was up.

"Friday, 7:30pm," she stated. "I'm taking the ship that heads out then and staying in Costa Rica for the weekend, until it heads back at the same time on Sunday. Of course, we can board at 7:00 on both occasions and arrive on site at 6:45, maybe aim for 6:30 to be safe. It's the best way to beat the crowd.

As usual, Claire was being meticulous, which was relatable, at least for him. True, he wasn't quite as meticulous as she was, but a pretty organised fellow nonetheless.

So, she was planning to leave on Friday? That gave him time to turn a half-baked idea to get Hailstorm off the island into a full-fledged game plan. Still, he frowned.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He shook his head regretfully. "Sorry. I'm busy this weekend, but I'll ask Owen to fill in and go inste-"

" **JAKE! You're fired!"** she half-snapped, half-laughed, startling some of the big cats.

He pretended to look disheartened. "In that case, I better act fast."

With that, he pulled out his phone, accessed his email and began to type the address of the Jurassic World employment department.

She glanced sideways in confusion. "Act … fast? What are you talking about?"

"Applying for the job of spinosaur trainer," Jake explained. "I hear the old guy got fired. Musta been a real jerk."

She chuckled. "Look, when you're done being corny, would you mind telling me whether or not you're interested?"

With a quick, subtle glance back at the R.V., Jake gave his answer: "Wouldn't miss it."

 ** _~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A FEW DAYS LATER ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~_**

Jake and Claire sat under the night sky of the restaurant's patio, treated by the sumptuous scents of various delectable dishes. In a reasonable amount of time, Claire's meal had arrived. Jake gave her dish a once-over: it consisted of fish, rice infused with vegetables and spices and a salad.

"I see you judging my meal," Claire noted with a smirk. "It seems pretty obvious to me that you're the kind of guy who's not quick to say everything that crosses his mind. So, a penny for your thoughts?"

Jake shrugged. "It looks really good, but a little on the 'safe' side."

"Safe?" she asked.

"Safe as in you're almost guaranteed to like it," Jake explained, "however, it's not very adventurous and exotic."

"Well, for me? It's pretty exotic," she declared defensively, before raising her eyebrows in accusation. "And what, may l ask, did you order?"

"Pacu," he stated.

She squinted. "Pacu? What's a pacu?"

"It's a kind of fish," he clarified.

She gave a brief huff of a triumphant laugh. "So, we both ended up ordering fish, huh? Who's 'safe' now?"

Jake gave a vaguely mischievous chuckle. "You got me."

Claire eyed him suspiciously, wondering if there was something to his impish smirk. Then she shrugged and pulled out her phone (the latter being something she did on a regular basis that night). At first, he assumed that it was business, but this time she held the device at an angle just low enough for him to accidentally glimpse some of the text. She realized that and quickly, self-consciously, withdrew the phone.

She threw up her hands in surrender. "You got me: I printed an itinerary for tonight."

"I … don't think that was an itinerary," he hesitantly stated.

Claire stiffened slightly. "Why do you say that?"

He explained with incisive detail. "Body language: you glanced to the left as you made that declaration, as opposed to glancing right or upwards when stating truth; your speech pattern changed, with a slightly higher voice and staccato articulation; you threw up your hands – an exaggerated gesture slightly uncharacteristic for situations like this and you-"

He paused, realising that his Holmesian deductions could come off as slightly creepy.

"I was also able to make out the first few words," he stated.

" _Wow …"_ she breathed in amazement. "That was … wow … Well, Sherlock, I guess there's no sense hiding my 'Idyllic Guy Case Study'. Basically, I assess my dates based in predetermined data and evolving circumstances. I know, it sounds kind of cheesy, "

Cheesy? More like vaguely _terrifying._ Jake shifted slightly in his seat, disquieted by the idea that his every move was being analysed. Still, he shook his head with a smile. Yes, she was structured to the point of being marginally unnerving, but he both admired that and found it adorable.

Then he caught himself.

What was he thinking? If he succeeded in what had set out to do on the mainland, he would likely never see her again. It didn't matter whether or not he passed the "Idyllic Guy Case Study".

"So, how well am I scoring?" he asked nonetheless.

"Significantly higher than Owen, that's for sure," she declared. "Most guys don't make it past the preliminary qualifications."

"Whoa. That's both daunting and reassuring," he commented with a hint of trepidation.

Claire grinned and was about to reassure him, before her eyes were drawn to the dark trees of the nocturnal jungle beyond the patio. For a moment, she thought she saw the figure of a T. rex lumbering through the night, but it was just foliage caught in the breeze. Claire usually saw the dinosaurs of the Park as assets: useful, but not demanding of her personal concern. She never tried to relate to them. She never considered their thoughts and feelings. Regardless, they crept into her dreams, her imaginations, her fears. Like a premonition of what was to come, the dinosaurs prowled the shadows of her mind. Every now and then, they pounced out of her subconscious, never quite able to reach her. Yet.

She noted how Jake instantly followed her gaze and almost seemed to perch at the edge of his seat, like a soldier priming mind and body for battle. If she saw something that threatened her, he looked about ready to threaten it back. She had never seen such instinctive, attentive defensiveness in a male before. She would have to make a note of that in her Case Study.

"Do you remember the first time you saw a dinosaur?" asked Claire.

Jake loosened up, realising that her sense of threat had dissipated. "Yup. I'll never forget that T. rex bull."

"Um, Rexy's not a bull," Claire stated. "There are no bull T. rexes in Jurassic World."

"I know," he acknowledged.

She blinked as the gears in her head quickly turned. "Oh, you're not talking about Jurassic World. You saw the San Diego Incident on television."

He grinned at her cleverness. "No. No, I didn't."

"Then you saw it in the newspaper," she reasoned.

She shook his head.

"You saw … photographs?" she guessed.

When he shook his head again, she began to get the inkling that his experience was much more personal.

Seeing the theory written on her face, Jake confirmed it by beginning his tale: "I was there."

 _ **~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MAY 25, 1997 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~**_

Night had fallen, but young Jake was wide awake. Sitting on his bed, his attention was fixed to a book about big cats and other predators. Their predatory qualities intrigued him, from behavior to the biological powers that gave them their edge.

Then he heard it. A sound like thunder muffled by distance.

At first, he dismissed it, but when the sound tentatively repeated again … and again … It grew stronger, and soon the house shuddered with every occurrence. His sharp, young mind quickly figured out that it was not thunder. It was too rhythmic to be thunder. More like … a gait.

He climbed off his bed and stepped towards the window. Nothing could prepare him for what he saw.

A bull T. rex plodded into view, not ten metres away. It turned to him. It couldn't see him too well, but with the open window, it could smell him. The dinosaur leaned in close, expecting the prey to do what prey did.

Squeal.

Run.

Instead, Jake simply stood there, unwavering. The boy knew that a predator's instincts and experiences roughly told it how a hunt ought to go:

1\. Notice prey

2\. Approach prey

3\. Prey shows fear and runs or makes a stand and attacks

4\. Chase and capture prey, or fight it if necessary

However, the Rex could neither see nor smell any indicators of fear or aggression. He was alive, but not responding the way a small lifeform should. In its mind, it came to a conclusion:

This was not prey.

The Rex snorted and moved on, drawn to the growl of a dog across the road.

Yes, Jake was not afraid, but his mind was alight with interest. Whatever he did with his life, at that moment he knew that it would revolve around at least one thing:

Dinosaurs.

 _ **~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BACK IN THE PRESENT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~**_

Claire stared, enthralled by Jake's story. "So, you really are cut out for this. Good thing you-"

She was interrupted when the waiter brought Jake's food, drawing a sharp gasp from her lungs. Laid among vegetables and sweet potato, or batata, lightly fried in thin chips, it was large fish that appeared mostly intact, even though cooked.

Claire stared at Jake's plate, eyes wide, jaw dropped.

"Well, you said we were here to be adventurous, so," he gestured his meal, "this is my adventure!"

"Are … you sure it's not still alive?" she found herself asking.

He prodded it with his fork. "Pretty sure, unless it's tricking us."

She gawked at its open mouth. "What's wrong with its _teeth?_ Why do they look so … _**human!"**_

"I'm sure scientists will be pondering that for ages to come," Jake stated with a shake of the head.

Though she was still fixated on the sight, Jake's mind seemed to wander elsewhere as he sighed. This had happened on multiple occasions, but one way or another she never had the chance to ask him about it.

"What's wrong?" asked Claire.

"I'm just … worried about someone," he explained.

"Friend? Family?" asked Claire.

"More like family," he clarified.

"Does this family member have a name?" she pressed.

"Hailey," Jake stated. "She's been injured … badly … the doctor says she'll make a full physical recovery, but psychologically? That's the part I'm worried about …"

* * *

 **As always, I hope you enjoyed this, and thank you for reading!**

 **By the way, has anyone noticed how Dash is forced to eat a lot of vegetables in the new Incredibles 2 trailer? That may be more important than you think, and I have a theory about that. Search "Why Dash Eats Lots of Veggies" and let's discuss the possibilities.**


	6. Chapter 6: Instinct's Insurrection

Chapter 6

Instinct Insurrection

In the bowels of a ship responsible for carrying Jurassic World employees and visitors alike the mainland, Jake's R.V. sat. He had attained permission for a few days' time off, and thus was allowed to take his living space/vehicle on board. However, he could never have attained permission to take the creatures smuggled within it. To the best of his ability, he had soundproofed the R.V. However, had anyone wandered too close to the secluded spot where the vehicle was nestled, they might have heard the hisses ... the snarls ... the thumps ...

Concealed in the rear section of the vehicle were Hailstorm and the young spinosaurs. What did Jake say their names were again? If Hailstorm remembered correctly, the female was called Typhoon. Her hide of brown hues was broken up by white stripes, some travelling along her sides and others climbing her sail. The male's name was Monsoon. He was grey, with accents of brown, much like the spinosaurs of Isla Sorna. Jake had told her that they were named after storms, just as she was. It seemed he had a tendency to dub his charges based on elemental forces.

The sibling spinosaurs were separated from Hailstorm by a grill; one which they were absolutely determined to break down. They could sense that she had been wounded recently. Though her seemingly weakened state baited their predatory instincts, they could also sense that something strange had taken place within her. It baffled them, but it wasn't enough to deter their intentions. Their thoughts were as plain as day to her. How? Because she could hear them in their growls, see them in their body language and smell them in the subtle odours the spinosaurs released in bio-chemical communication. In fact, she understood the spinosaurs so well that she might as well have been one of them. How was this possible? That was a question that had tickled her mind for days. Raptors, T. rexes, ankylosaurs and other dinosaurs she had sensed at a distance ... they all had their own distinct species, but she existed in some kind of grey area between the species. She didn't fully understand what that meant, but even though it allowed her to connect with the different species in a special way, it also left her feeling isolated somehow. However, she wasn't thinking about that at the moment. Her thoughts went something more like: **"Food! Food! Food!"**

She stared at her food bowl for the billionth time, as if that would change the fact that it was empty. The I. rex crooned a lullaby to herself, trying to get to sleep while reminding herself that Jake would be back with food soon enough. It's not like she was dying, was she? She could wait.

Her instincts would have none of it. They _demanded_ that she find food **now,** promising to guide her as she hunted it down.

Hailstorm blinked at her thoughts. Hunt? This was a tiny, enclosed area! Was she _losing_ it? There was nothing to hunt!

She glanced at the upholstery already mangled by her jaws. She had stripped and devoured the leather in a fit of hysterical hunger. With that meagre food source depleted (if you could call that food) she seriously considered eating her own forelimb, and barely managed to convince herself that that would only make things worse.

Hailstorm curled her toes in response to the din of her not-so-friendly roommates as she lay facing the wall away from the spinosaurs. Avoiding eye-contact, she had tried to ignore them for hours. The spinosaurs reached a new crescendo as they threw themselves at the grill. The only thing louder than them was her own mind screaming for feeding. Her muscles tensed as she grit her teeth. At best, the ruckus was making it hard to stay sane. At worse, it was making her **_mad!_**

In a burst of aggression, Hailstorm came crashing into the grill with a white hot snarl. The spinosaurs jumped back with petrified shrieks, but what she did next shocked them more than ever: she roared like a spinosaur, releasing a powerful chemical signal of dominance. Their communication was not nearly as advanced as that of raptors, but it was enough to get the point across. With a show of daunting dominance demanding immediate submission, she had essentially told them to **"SHUT UP OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES!"**

Suddenly, she calmed down and tilted her head as she eyed them in a way that made their guts churn with nervousness. In the twinkling of a eye, a new and terrifying thing had happened in her mind. It was something rather alien to humans: something that could only take place in the mind of a purely predatory creature. Throughout most of her life, instinct was a little voice at the back of her mind. It spoke, but she could choose whether or not to listen. However, when it realised that she wasn't giving her body the food it demanded there and then, that's when the weird stuff happened. It activated a fail-safe and shoved her to the back of her mind so that _she_ was the tiny voice in her head. Her body seemed to move on its own. Her brain formulated thoughts without her consent. Hailstorm was no longer in control. A creature that could only be described as "Instinct" itself had taken her place.

Hailstorm gave a confused, mental whimper, but Instinct gently hushed her, telling her to relax, sit back and take a break. She would take good care of Hailstorm. After all, she had found a food source. The I. rex would be fed and happy before she knew it.

Instinct paced the grill, trying to find a way to enter the spinosaurs' area.

Hailstorm asked Instinct what in the world she was doing? Did she intend to devour the spinosaurs? That was crazy!

Instinct bit the lock that kept the spinosaurs caged and wrenched it with incredible force. The metal warped around it, but it did not budge.

Noting the sturdiness of the lock, Instinct gave a single huff like a laugh and stated that it seemed Jake did not trust her. She couldn't imagine why. She was a good girl, wasn't she? Too bad she was also a clever girl. She would figure out how to reach the spinosaurs soon enough.

Hailstorm begged Instinct to remember that Jake loved the spinosaurs (even if she had no idea why). She may have been a predator, but she had to make careful choices about what she would hunt, whenever she got the chance to hunt. Anything that humans cared about was off limits. Humans themselves were _completely_ out of the question! Jake had stressed this over and over and over. It was her code.

Instinct gave a dismissively lighthearted croon, before telling her that the "code" didn't apply in these situations.

Hailstorm reminded her that there were two spinosaurs, and only one I. rex. Hunting them was suicide.

Instinct half-agreed: Sure, it could have been suicide, but the spinosaurs were afraid of her. If she kept them afraid, they would stay emotionally unbalanced long enough for her to deal with them both. Easy.

In her mind, Hailstorm whined, resigning to the fact that Instinct was about to get her killed.

Standing still for a moment, Instinct considered her charge's concerns.

Hope bubbled in Hailstorm's heart. So, they weren't going to hunt the spinosaurs anymore? Yes! She'd get to live another day after all!

Instinct slowly turned to the door, instilling in Hailstorm a sickening feeling. No ... they wouldn't be hunting spinosaurs, she assured. Humans were much easier prey.

Kicking and screaming, Hailstorm watched as Instinct reached for the handle of the door that led to the drivers' area, then pressed it down until it opened with a click. **No!** Jake had left that door unlocked because he didn't think she would try to leave. If she left, it would have to be due to an emergency. How would he feel if she not only left, but did it because she planned on hunting humans? She couldn't betray his trust!

Instinct shushed her, stating that they could discuss this once they escaped.

Hailstorm's heart flared with unexpected rage. _"Escape"?_ There was _**nothing**_ to escape from! **She wasn't Jake's _captive,_ she was his _daughter_ and he LOVED her!**

With that, Hailstorm hurled Instinct back to the recesses of her mind and regained control. As if waking from a nightmare, she panted in panic as her heart raced. That was _**freaky!**_ What had given her the strength to overcome Instinct? The fact that she loved Jake? The fact that she saw herself as his daughter? He was her guardian, but she had never before thought of him as a blood father. Despite the imprinting, it was all too obvious that they were of different species. He came from the world of humans and she came from ... well, sometimes it felt like nowhere. Still, it soothed her to think that she had a father who might as well have been as close as one with her flesh, blood and scales. It helped her feel like she belonged in this world, despite the grey area of her species. That sense of assurance acted as an anchor, giving her the resolve to live up to Jake's expectations, as opposed to Instinct's.

Speaking of Instinct, Hailstorm mentally spotted the creature looming a little too close to her consciousness. Once noticed, Instinct withdrew to hide in the shadows of her mind ... for the time being. Hailstorm knew that Instinct would pounce her and take over once given the chance. If she wanted to calm the savage beast, she needed food - the _right_ kindof food.

She had to find Jake!

Hailstorm tentatively pushed the door open and poked her head into the driver's area. She couldn't see anyone through the windows - just crates and other pieces of cargo. Okay, the coast was clear, as far as she could tell without being able to smell beyond the R.V. Now came the hardest part - unlocking the door to the outside world. The I. rex attempted to lift the tiny knob that locked it, but her jaws slipped again ... and again ... and again. She couldn't quite seem to get her teeth around the knob with the glass window right behind it. Maybe she would have better luck with her claws? Nope. Still couldn't get a good grip. Her efforts grew more vigourous as she continued to try with no luck. In that tight space, vigourous movements meant that her tail was always batting against something. That made her feel pent up, which increased her irritability, resulting in even more vigourous motions and batting. It was a vicious cycle. After fumbling for several minutes, her frustration escalated until she released sharp snarls in a temper tantrum.

For the first time since she left her enclosure, Hailstorm gazed back at the spinosaurs. Still a little shaken, they were staring at her as if she were a mad dog better off put down. As if **_she_** was the one who tried to attack them first! With a disgruntled grunt, the I. rex braced her body against the door to the spinosaurs' area, pushing it closed so that she didn't have to see them anymore. Now, where was she? Oh, right!

The I. rex continued her tantrum and kicked the door with a venomous hiss, before cooing in regret as she realised that the sound might draw unwanted attention.

Instinct offered to try breaking down the door.

Hailstorm growled in response, giving a categorical no.

She sat on her haunches, attempting to calm down. Then she gently reached forward, twisted her wrists so that her claws faced each other and placed one talon behind the knob, the other in front of it. Squeezing the knob between the claws, she lifted it and the door unlocked with a click. Huh ... to think all it took was a gentle touch. Who knew?

Hailstorm pulled the handle and pushed the door open with her head, greeted by a waft of odours hanging on stagnant air. She crept into the cargo hold and looked around. Neither sight nor scent informed her of human presence (much to Instinct's disappointment). She shuddered to think of what Instinct would try to do if she saw a human. She didn't intend to find out. Surely she could get to Jake without encountering one, couldn't she?

Not likely, Instinct countered.

Paying no attention to Instinct's unsettling response, the I. rex crept between cargo, quickly found a door and pressed the handle down. She nudged the barrier out of the way and looked left and right down the hallway. Great. No one was there. Following Jake's scent, she found a flight of stairs and climbed them with feather-light steps.

At one point, Instinct almost gave a rejoicing squeal.

Hailstorm stopped and tapped her claw in annoyance. What now, she asked begrudgingly?

Instinct happily informed her that she could smell humans nesting in their rooms. If she played her cards right, they wouldn't even know what hit them.

Hailstorm shook her head in curt dismissal before moving on, attempting to ignore the way Instinct made her feet drag, trying to pull her in the opposite direction.

Hailstorm passed through a final door and found herself on the ship's deck. The wind tickled her scales, bringing a battery of unfamiliar scents. It was almost too much to take in. Quickened by curiosity, she trotted to the edge of the deck and stopped mid-step the moment she caught sight of the view.

What in the world was this wondrous place? Legions and legions of lights spread across the city before her. She had never seen so many lights before, and in the darkness of the night, they were almost indistinguishable from stars. Were they even lights, or stars? Had Jake somehow taken her to a land in the sky? The smells were as captivating as the sights: exhaust; gutters; humans and many other curiosities, but above all, food. She could smell it in the smoke wafting off grills; the fumes escaping fried food establishments; the plethora of aromas birthed by Central American cuisine, beckoning her with siren calls. Spoiled on treats lavished on her by Jake, she was quite familiar with the unnatural prospect of cooked food. It was every bit as welcome as a raw piece of meat, if not more. Surely, she could find _something_ to eat in this place. After all, the humans had more than enough.

Instinct stated that she didn't care what she ate, so long as she ate.

Hailstorm was tempted to roll her eyes.

Suddenly, footsteps met her ears.

Without thinking, the I. rex dove off the edge of the ship and disappeared into the chilly ocean with a conspicuous splash. She froze and held her breath as an inquisitive flashlight scanned the black waters from the deck. There was nothing to see, especially since she had instinctively darkened her skin to match her surroundings. Finding nothing, the flashlight disappeared. Good. With that out of the way, Hailstorm decided to focus on her newest, most pressing concern.

She couldn't swim!

After flailing about and making no progress whatsoever, Hailstorm decided to calm down and approach this logically. She knew for a fact that it was possible to swim, but how? Suddenly, the answer popped into her mind. Where did it come from?

Instinct.

Her lungs whined for air, but she managed to hold it together and paddle upwards.

Hailstorm's jaws parted in a deep breath as she reached the surface. After dog paddling to a ladder, she pulled herself to the top with her mouth, the same way a parrot would climb with its beak.

Shivering, she took a moment to collect herself. She could almost feel Instinct standing beside her, gloating about how she had saved Hailstorm's life. What other life-saving secrets did she hold? One way to find out: Hailstorm would have to trust her.

The I. rex crooned, but there was caution in her croon. In other words "thank you, but you stand over there please where I can keep an eye on you".

Instinct didn't budge. She was getting bold. Hailstorm had to act fast!

She found Jake's scent and slinked between cargo and shadows, cloaking all the while. Luckily, there weren't that many people about. She only hoped her cloaking scales were enough to avoid any undesired attention.

After following Jake's trail to the edge of a street, it came to an end. How was this possible? He couldn't just disappear off the face of the Earth! (He could, however, take a taxi, not that she knew).

Hailstorm hissed in frustration before looking into the city and going silent. What did she see? A stray dog, rummaging through the garbage.

Before she could properly process what it was, her feet propelled her towards her prey, courtesy of Instinct.

The dog saw her coming, and he didn't need to look twice. Without even knowing the unfortunate history between dogs and rexes, he bolted.

Hailstorm was about to resist, but Instinct quickly told her that this this creature was obviously not off limits. It wasn't a human, and it wasn't human property. Judging from its clearly defined ribs, the dog was not receiving consistent nourishment, which meant that it had no caretaker. What reason did she have to hold back?

Hailstorm whined, pitying the dog's poor condition and low chances of survival against her.

Instinct chastised her for being so soft. Where did she think meat came from? Trees? Of course not! Every time she ate, something had to die to surrender its meat. Besides, when was the last time she had hunted prey? Did she miss the thrill of the chase? The thumping heart? The pounding feet? The flesh against her claws and teeth? No, of course not. She didn't miss it because she had never hunted anything in her life ... until now. She should savour it.

Relaxing more and more by the second, Hailstorm succumbed to her hunting drive. She had to admit it: this was exhilarating!

With a predatory cry, she darted from alley to alley in pursuit of the canine. Luckily, the hunter and hunted managed to keep to the more secluded paths until the dog dashed across a street and the last thing she saw was the glare of headlights before a vehicle slammed into her like a rampaging triceratops.

Hailstorm reeled, fell, staggered to a stand and hurried into an alley, nearly tripping on her own feet. Once there, she tried to collect herself despite the impact-induced migraine. Amid the ringing in her head, she heard human voices.

"What did we hit?"

"I don't know. I think I saw a white dog."

"I saw it too, but we didn't hit the dog. The thing didn't move like a dog ... and it was black."

Yes, black, thanks to her colour-changing scales.

The I. rex heard curious but cautious footsteps approach until the humans came into view at the edge of the alley. One pierced the darkness with his phone light, but they couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary.

They continued to discuss the matter among themselves:

"What did it look like, if not a dog?"

"Maybe a bird. A really big bird, like an ostrich, or ..."

"Or what?"

"Nah. What I'm thinking? It's a bit too crazy. Musta been the dog after all. There's nowhere to hide, and no way anything else coulda crossed the alley before we got here."

They departed, entered their car and were off. Seconds later, what looked like a large, green, misshapen garbage bag uncurled itself. Hailstorm stumbled to her feet and her skin returned to its usual white. Shaken, sore, and dreading what horribly unfortunate thing could befall her next, she felt like coming out here was the worst idea in the world. Panicked, Hailstorm did the first thing that came to mind.

Call for help!

* * *

"Um, could you do me an _incy wincy_ favour and not tell Owen about tonight? Or any other night we go out like this?" Claire suddenly asked, speaking quickly as if insecure about her words.

Looking up from his food to her, Jake raised an eyebrow and tentatively asked: _"Why?"_

"Oh, you know how he can be," Claire clarified with a flippant wave of her hand.

Suddenly, what sounded like the cry of a feline swept across the city, turning a few heads.

"Wow. That sounded close," Claire stated as she looked into the distance. "I didn't think big cats wandered this close to civilisation. Then again, I'm not the big cat expert. Can you identify the species, Mr. Animal Whisperer?"

No answer.

She turned to face her date. "Jake?"

No Jake.

Claire quickly spotted him several yards away, hurriedly speaking with the waiter. She couldn't properly hear what they were saying from that distance, but she caught the word "emergency". Spurred by Jake's sense of urgency, the waiter received the fee for their meals with a quick, nervous nod. Jake turned to leave, only to find himself face to face with Claire.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "You look like you're heading off to fight a war."

"Something came up," he declared. "Something urgent."

"Does that 'something' have anything to do with the big cat we just heard?"

He hesitated, his intense, unblinking eyes fixed on hers.

"Yes," Jake finally answered.

"Well, in any event, I'm coming with you," she responded.

"It's not safe," he warned.

She furrowed her brow. "Not safe? What exactly are we doing?"

"We're hunting," Jake declared.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7: Three Hunters

Chapter 7

Three Hunters

The dirt road's darkness was pierced by a pair of headlights on a hired jeep grumbling into the jungle night. Commandeering the vehicle was Jake, with an inquisitive Claire sitting to his left.

"So, we're hunting some kind of 'rogue jaguar'?" asked Claire.

"Yup," Jake confirmed.

"And how do you know that we heard that particular jaguar at the restaurant?" she pressed.

"Because he has a distinctive roar," explained Jake.

"Didn't sound very distinctive," Claire argued.

"You have to know what to listen for," Jake stated.

In truth, the roar did match that of the rogue infamous for its human-hunting habits. The government had considered giving a hefty reward to the hunter who caught the elusive animal. However, no such award had been issued to date, and chances were no one would care to risk their neck trying to catch the unusually dangerous cat without an incentive, especially at night time ... unless that incentive was altruism or a death wish. Jake didn't expect anyone to go after the jaguar for the sheer sake of being a hero, which made that roar an ideal code for an emergency distress call from Hailstorm. It didn't take her long to learn how to roar like that, thanks to her sharp brain coupled with the many species that defined her biology. Just to be sure that the sound came from her, he had taught her to roar for precisely four seconds every time she did it. After she'd repeated the sound a few times, he was absolutely certain that it was her. Being a big cat expert, facing down a jaguar was a good excuse for running off in the middle of his date. Of course, he didn't count on his date tagging along. The real trick would be reaching Hailstorm without letting Claire know what he was up to.

Yet another call met their ears, but it didn't sound much closer than the last ... or the one before the last ... or any calls, for that matter. He was getting closer, but only gradually. For whatever reason, it seemed Hailstorm was moving away - quickly enough to stay ahead of him for quite a while.

* * *

Hailstorm's feet pounded against the moist soil and greenery of the alien jungle. Finally, she saw fit to stop running. The greenery seemed to absorb her heavy breaths, aided by the song of the night sang by a plethora of creatures, from crickets and frogs to larger animals she could not identify. The host of scents made her nostrils flare. There were too many to process, and she had no idea what kinds of dreadful beasts could be attached to many of them. Unfamiliar - all of it was too unfamiliar, and Instinct told her that the unfamiliar was sometimes dangerous. Was it her imagination, or were the shadows getting ... _closer?_

She growled at the darkness, stepping back even though there was no way to escape it. Then she realised that the shadows weren't closing in so much as the trees that cast them were simply shifting in the wind. It was just her intelligent and all-too-imaginative mind playing tricks on her.

Hailstorm went back to worrying. What to do? Where to go? What to eat? What to **eat?** **What to EAT?!**

 **Bingo!**

She smelled something a few yards away. It was small, but she'd settle for just about anything. Hailstorm followed the scent and found a colourful frog clinging to the side of a tree. She heedlessly spread her jaws to snap it up when Instinct practically screamed.

 **Don't touch that!**

Hailstorm stopped as if yanked back by an invisible leash. At first, she was confused and irked until Instinct urged her to sniff the frog - still without touching it. Though miffed, Hailstorm saw no harm in harm in following Instinct's advice this time around, but why so much fuss over a little frog? The sniff yielded the answer.

Poison.

Poison enough to kill her if she so much as took a lick. Hailstorm's blood ran cold as she realised how close to death's door she had come. Before she was even conscious of the danger, the creature's smell had triggered a subconscious alarm. Instinct had picked up on that alarm and relayed the information to her conscious mind.

She gingerly stepped away from the frog as if it were a bomb, then quietly considered what to do next. A whine escaped her lips as she grappled with her sense of helplessness and isolation. With little to distract her, she remembered how her skin crawled with itchiness as if infested with a nest of crawling ants. It was a sensation that came and went, but her hunger had all but drowned it out since her misadventure began. Jake had told her that she was about to 'shed', and that was all part of the process. Despite her reptilian biology, her species tended not to shed except upon reaching maturity ... or sustaining severe bodily trauma. Thus, the concept struck her as strange and slightly disturbing. Well, if it meant the end of her ever-increasing bouts of itching, she would be happy to get it over with, strange as it was.

Hailstorm leaned into a tree and attempted to rub off her hide on the rough bark. Annoyingly, it hardly budged, regardless of how loosely it clung to her. Then she spared a glance at the light that loomed over the treetops to the west - the light of a city brimming with activity. With life. With _meat._

Suddenly, she realised that she was running towards the city, intent on reaching that meat. With a horrified shriek, she came to a stop and vented her despair in a fit of weeping whimpers. What was _happening_ to her? Why couldn't she control her body? It was **_her_** body! Instinct had no right to pull her strings as if she were a puppet! She wanted to go home. She wanted Jake.

She could practically hear Instinct tapping her claw in impatience, sympathetic but unrelenting. In Hailstorm's shaky emotional state, it wasn't hard for Instinct to ease her foot forward. Then Hailstorm pulled the reigns, forced herself to stop, and sucked up the whimpers with resolute determination. She would find food, but not in the city. This jungle would be her hunting grounds, and if Instinct dared to try to make her do otherwise, she would fight her, and fight her, until every hunting attempt was sabotaged by her resistance. Then the humans would figure out that a dangerous creature was in their midst, and they would end her. She and Instinct both knew how deadly humans could be, based on the things Jake had shared with Hailstorm by mouth and by internet videos.

Instinct's response was the mental equivalent of a long, exasperated sigh. What was she going to do with this crazy little I. rex? Very well. If Hailstorm wanted to hunt in the dank, dark, dangerous jungle, Instinct would help her. Whatever they found, they would catch, if it was feasible. Deal?

Hailstorm bobbed her head in a nod. Deal.

Suddenly, Instinct illuminated a myriad of new scent paths that lay just beyond Hailstorm's consciousness until then. Hailstorm had to admit it: she was impressed. Somehow, Instinct had the power to bring awareness to parts of the I. rex's mind that Hailstorm didn't even know existed. If Hailstorm were a human with a mind for pop culture, she might have thought that it seemed instinct was her 'J.A.R.V.I.S.', albeit a semi-rogue A.I. that gave her the heebie-jeebies.

Hailstorm sucked in a breath of confidence before pressing further into the underbrush. Until then, she had taken care to stay close to the dirt road. If Jake had heard her calls, she wanted him to be able to follow her. However, Instinct was leading her away from the road. She didn't like it, but if it meant satisfying her hunger more quickly, then so be it. She almost released her signature barking cry reminiscent of a velociraptor. However, she managed to catch herself and release yet another jaguar roar. After all, I. rexes didn't live in these parts. As Jake had once told her, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

* * *

What on **_Earth_** was Hailstorm doing? That was the recurring question on Jake's mind. If she wanted him to reach her, then why was she moving away from civilisation? Didn't she know that he'd be closer to where the other humans were? Had something happened to make her flee the city without stopping? Then he remembered how her hunger would often come in overwhelming waves. Was she hunting? If so, then why was she calling him and moving away at the same time?

With a custom-built air tranquiliser gun in hand, Jake stopped the jeep and listened.

It sounded as though Hailstorm was no longer ahead of him, but beside him. Nonetheless, she was still a fair distance off. Was she moving deeper into the jungle? That made sense, if she was following a trail in a hunt. Unfortunately, it also made following her much harder. He would have to go on foot hereafter.

"I'll be back," Jake declared as he disembarked the jeep.

He closed the door behind him and was surprised to hear a second one slamming. Jake turned and there was Claire, tying her blouse and looking quite resolute.

Jake blinked as he drew a blank. _"Okaaay ..._ what does that mean, exactly?"

"It means I'm coming with you," she stated.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I'm not letting you run off into the night alone," Claire declared.

He tapped the night vision goggles on his head. "I've got only one pair of these. How will you see?"

She paused, her eyes darting about as if searching for an answer.

"I'll keep track of you by sound," she stated.

"I'm hunting a rogue jaguar," he reminded. "I'll be making as little noise as possible, so as to avoid his notice. He won't hear me, so how will you? Besides, if I won't go out there without goggles, why are you confident in your ability to do so?"

Amid his calm application of logic, he hoped that his impatience wouldn't show.

"I ... well ..." Claire faltered. "Well, two heads are better than one! Are you saying that I'll only hold you back?"

"Yes," he declared without hesitation, though by no means disrespectfully.

He watched as she paused for the second time, probably not expecting him to be this blunt in his answer. Jake admired her strong will, but there were too many things that could go wrong if he took her along. Her eyes scanned his face and body language, searching for a sign of weakening resolve. There was none.

"I'm coming with you. Full. Stop," Claire declared.

It seemed the unstoppable force had met the immovable object ... until Jake apparently relented.

"Stay close," he warned as he adjusted the air pressure on his weapon. "I'll be moving at a clip, so- Wait a minute ... **Behind you!"**

The moment Claire spun to face whatever dared threaten them, she heard a *pfft!* and felt a something akin to a nip in her thigh. She yelped and instinctively reached for the afflicted spot, finding the culprit and plucking it from her skin – a dart. Luckily, that was all she could do before collapsing, caught by Jake before she could reach the ground.

After carrying her into the vehicle, Jake stared at his handiwork and shook his head in self-directed disappointment.

"First date and you darted her with a tranq gun," he told himself critically. "Jake, if you're seventy and still unmarried, ** _don't_** ask why."

With that, he secured the vehicle and set off to find the I. rex.

* * *

Hailstorm slowly crept across the ground on all fours, her tattered skin blending in with the grass around her. Out here, where she need not differentiate between prey and otherwise, she had given Instinct full reign over her actions, and Instinct was carrying her through the hunt like an experienced, older sister. All Hailstorm really had to do was sit back and enjoy the pleasure of allowing her mind, body and senses to do what came naturally. The I. rex only hoped that whatever they were hunting was not bigger than she was. Hmm ... strangely enough, she couldn't identify it. Initially, when Instinct highlighted the scent trail, it was so faint that she scarcely noticed it herself. Then again, what could she identify in such an alien place? Still, it was stronger now, and it struck a chord of familiarity. Maybe it was a dog? Dogs weren't big: she'd be game for catching one.

She took a deep sniff and analysed the scent. Just as recognition flickered in her mind, Instinct snuffed it out.

Suspicion spiked through Hailstorm and before Instinct could stop her, she was standing and peering over the grass.

A village.

A startled yelp rose in Hailstorm's throat, but Instinct stopped it short before easing Hailstorm her back into grass.

The I. rex's nostrils flared with an indignant breath as she reminded Instinct of their deal.

Instinct, in turn, reminded her that the deal allowed them to hunt anything in the jungle. These humans were in the jungle.

Hailstorm's anger reached apoplectic levels as she mentally screamed at Instinct for tricking her.

Instinct argued that, had Hailstorm realised that they were hunting humans, the I. rex would have resisted and broken the deal. Now, it did not matter if Hailstorm threw a fit: a deal was a deal. She had already given Instinct the steering wheel, and Instinct had no intention of letting go.

* * *

Jake wrinkled his brow as he caught wind of a strange combination of sounds. It was Hailstorm, and there was no end to the relief of that, but he couldn't make heads or tails of what she was doing. He listened as her voice fluctuated between livid snarls, pleading whines, warning growls, hopeless whimpers, confused cackles and even a jaguar-like call that died before it could get loud enough to travel far. If the map app on Jake's phone was correct, then there was a village nearby, but not near enough to for the noises to reach it. Had Hailstorm encountered a dangerous creature? Was she alternating between warnings and submission? He couldn't hear any responses from said creature, but if he didn't know any better, it sounded as though Hailstorm was arguing with herself.

Jake increased his pace and pushed through the last veil of vegetation that blocked the path to his charge. Then he stood stock still. Nothing could prepare him for what he saw.

Hailstorm jerked in surprise and froze. It took her a little time to recognise Jake in his night vision goggles. She gave a warning growl until his scent reached her nose. Then she stared at Jake with an acute mix of shame and shock. At her feet lay a man. Jake couldn't see any wounds or blood, but then again the night vision goggles he wore gave him no capacity for colour differentiation. His shirt had nearly been pulled from his back, shredded cloth confirming that it was Hailstorm's means of dragging him. Was he alive? The human clarified that by stirring softly. Based on Hailstorm's body language, it seemed she had been caught red-clawed in a forbidden hunt. Still, he had to be sure.

"Did you drag him out here?" asked Jake.

The I. rex hesitated before bobbing her head in a nod.

"Have you wounded him?" Jake went on.

She lightly shook her head. If anything, it seemed she had rendered him unconscious by blunt force, if she was the culprit. Now came the moment of truth.

"Did you hunt him?" asked Jake.

Hailstorm's ducked head and fidgeting claws was all the answer he needed.

Jake took a step forward but her snarl stopped him in his tracks. He tilted his head as he reevaluated her body language. How peculiar: her ducked head initially appeared to suggest submission, but it also served as part of a battle stance. It seemed she was sending two different messages at the same time. He also noticed the way her eyes tentatively flicked to the weapon in his hands. In response, she hovered her head above the human, making it even easier to do some damage before the tranquiliser dart took effect. She gave a warning growl and flicked her head, commanding Jake to leave. Was she using this human as a hostage? Even if so, he had little doubt of what she would do if he left nonetheless - he just didn't want to believe it.

 _~C'mon,~_ Jake beckoned. _~Let's get you something better to eat.~_

Hailstorm bobbed her head in an eager nod. It seemed like a good plan, and she begged her primal side to consider his offer.

Suddenly, she found herself shaking her head on Instinct's command. According to Instinct's rationale, Jake had already failed to properly feed her. He had constantly underestimated her increasingly insatiable hunger, but now she had found something to satisfy it. Did he think that his Whisper could control her? Not likely! He may have been family, and family was necessary, but at the moment he was a rival.

He'd never seen her switch states of mind so quickly. Yes, she had been going through a rather bumpy psychological phase, but this was off the charts. Had it reached some kind of critical mass? It was almost as if she were two different people!

 _You know what will happen if you make a move against him,_ Jake declared, raising his tranquilliser ever so slightly. Then his tone lightened. _Hailstorm, why are you doing this?_ _Where's the I. rex I raised? The one I love? Where's my daughter?~_

His words tore her heart apart, bringing an unfamiliar wetness to her eyes.

She gave a strained, broken whine, telling him that she was right there. However, even then, her feet refused to lift, no matter how hard she commanded them to move away from her human victim. Her mind was no longer her own, and she desperately begged him to understand that, no matter what happened next, she _had_ tried and _was_ trying to honour him.

Her whimpers halted as Instinct held her tongue, coldly gesturing for Jake to leave once again.

 _~Okay,~_ Jake agreed. _~I'll go, but first, I want you to look at me.~_

He removed his goggles and the world grew dark, but he knew that Hailstorm could still see him. Her eyes were designed for incredibly efficient night vision, which meant that the pupils could narrow or widen to a very noticeable degree, according to how much light they needed to take in. However, this served the dual purpose of revealing her emotions, just as humans' eyes did. During the day, her pupils were generally slit like those of a cat. When she saw something that made her happy, the slits widened to a degree, but it seemed they expanded to perfect circles whenever she saw Jake. That had a lot to do with the strength of her imprint on him. Her attachment to Jake was such that she almost didn't identify him as sharing his species with other humans. As much as he had trained her to respect them, there was a mental barrier that prevented her from truly empathising with them. Yes, they were highly intelligent and fascinated her to no end, but at the end of the day they were animals, not 'people' by her definition of the term. Jake decided that it was time for that to change.

Due to the darkness, Hailstorm's pupils were as round as ever, but they would have grown rounder if they could. She could scarcely bear the disappointment on his face, and cooed her apology.

 _~Look at the man on the ground,~_ Jake instructed, slipping the goggles back on.

She turned her attention to him, a bag of flesh and bones that resembled Jake but, to her, only superficially. Instinct fidgeted before turning to Jake, expressing her impatience in a half-growl, half-whine. She really didn't see the purpose of this, but she had fulfilled his request. Now, would he stand down and leave her be?

 _~Don't just look at him,~_ Jake went on. _~ **Gaze** at him, and do nothing else. Don't take your eyes off him. Do it longer this time, and I want you to ask yourself: what do you see?~_

Instinct snorted. What exactly was Jake trying to accomplish here? Despite her unbearable hunger, she knew that she wouldn't get more than a few bites if he tranquillised her first. Well, if doing this meant getting him to back off, then so be it. So, Hailstorm and Instinct stared at the human. Bit by bit, the I. rex's grumbles subsided, lost to the stillness of the moment.

Jake remembered Hailstorm's birth. She had hatched a few days before Firestorm, and it had happened in a room completely free of any humans and their scents, with the exception of him. When she finally broke free of her egg and adjusted to the light and new sensation of breathing, she managed to sit up and saw the giant that was Jake looming above her. Then she stared ... and stared ... and stared. He knew that it was all part of the imprinting process, but it made him slightly uncomfortable all the same. Nonetheless, he stared back, and as she analysed his most minute movements, he took the time to study her. Much to his surprise, he began to imprint on **_her._** That was what he was trying to replicate in the current scenario.

The I. rex found that as she looked at the human, **_really_** looked at him, bit by bit she was forced her to see something more than meat. In him, she saw Jake, and even a little bit of herself. He was different from them both, to be sure, but similar in all the ways that mattered.

By the time Instinct realised what had happened, a mental barrier had already been raised between herself and the human. She couldn't eat him anymore than she could eat another I. rex! She wasn't happy about being outfoxed, but she had to give Jake the credit for a move well-played.

Jake smiled as he heard Hailstorm coo the way she did when discovering something new and eye-opening. Then her coos turned to sober whines of apology, but Jake's smile quickly vanished.

 _"Shh,"_ he shushed.

She stiffened with surprise. Was he rejecting her apology? She was about to press a little harder for forgiveness when Instinct shushed her as well. It was then when she noticed the scent of an unfamiliar specimen from a nonetheless familiar species.

A jaguar.

Jake turned on a dime as the feline exploded from the bushes. In the fraction of a moment before his tranquilliser gun took aim, the creature collided with him, knocking the weapon from his hands and dealing a slash to his torso. However, it did not expect the well-placed fingers that he dug into its eyes. That might have been enough to drive away the average jaguar, but this one was uniquely tenacious. It pulled away from his hand, darted behind his fallen body and lunged in for a killing bite. The big cat flinched as an alien roar met its ears and a white beast barrelled into its side.

After rolling with the impact, the cat writhed to its feet in an instant and evaluated its strange attacker. The closest thing it could liken her to was a bird. Yes, her build was more powerful than that of any bird it had encountered, but a bird was a bird, and it had never met a fowl that it couldn't best. So, what made it think twice before taking on this one? Well, in place of feathers, wings and a beak were scales, claws and a maw full of teeth akin to that of a crocodile. She was an impressive opponent, but the jaguar's intentions remained undaunted.

Hailstorm spared no effort flashing her teeth and making the ugliest noises she could ever recall passing her lips, but despite her fearsome display, the jaguar showed no sign of backing down. With massive muscles rippling on its particularly large frame, the creature weighed as much as she did, if not more. Hailstorm had encountered such cats under Jake's care, but this one was particularly big for its species.

A fight seemed inevitable, so she drew from the knowledge she'd gained during Jake's training. However, she had been taught to fight other dinosaurs. Big cats were a completely different ball game. Then Instinct began to highlight the jaguar's most likely strengths and weaknesses, according to its anatomy. Simultaneously, she suggested how to navigate and exploit them. It was far from a complete analysis, but Instinct promised to share anything else that she learned during the battle.

Hailstorm was sceptical of any 'help' that Instinct had to offer, but Instinct gave the reminder that her motive was as it had always been: to take care of Hailstorm, even if the I. rex didn't agree with her. However, there was no disagreement in this case, was there? So why hold back on this creature?

The jaguar unknowingly sealed the deal as it released the roar that Hailstorm had learnt to mimic. Then she knew that it was the rogue that Jake had told her about after letting her hear audio samples of its voice. Yes, there was no need to hold back.

Instinct and Hailstorm melded their wills just as the jaguar exploded towards them.

* * *

 **According to my knowledge, tranquillisers often take time to kick in (way longer in the movies), and using darts on a human being can be dangerous, but hey: I guess you can chalk it up to poetic license … or just plain submission to a trope. Take your pick.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks for reading.**


	8. Chapter 8: Ultimatums

Chapter 8

Ultimatums

There were a few, crucial differences between the jaguar and the I. rex. For one, he was an experienced hunter, whereas she was a trained fighter. As a hunter, he relied on quick ambushes. If the prey noticed him, chances were a chase would ensue, but seldom did the prey directly fight back. Hailstorm possessed a measure of ambush training as well, but as a fighter, she was taught how to deal with opponents who already knew that she was there - opponents who had every intention of fighting back. She had an edge in that respect, but there was no short-changing his experience.

A fervent cacophony of snarls and growls rent the jungle's relatively peaceful atmosphere as Hailstorm and the jaguar went head to head to head, tooth and claw. Instinct was constantly firing off pointers: move left; move right; get in close; no, back up a bit. Piece by piece, she composed a mental diagram of the jaguar's strengths and weaknesses. Its biggest advantage appeared to be its four legs, which afforded greater stability. Hailstorm quickly discovered that she could default to a four-legged position to mimic that stability. Bit by bit, she was learning. However, she didn't feel confident enough to land a critical blow, so she dodged and fended off the jaguar's attacks to bide her time until she was confident in her knowledge of how to win, especially with her current impediment.

The jaguar was positive that he was tearing Hailstorm apart. Why else would her skin so freely come loose in his claws and jaws? Finally, he got a hold of a huge strip of her hide and yanked with savage force. The two creatures tumbled away from each other as he tore it right off of her body. There - this bizarre, toothed bird couldn't possibly survive after that, could she?

The jaguar savoured the flesh in his jaws, or so he tried, but his instincts told him that something wasn't right. There wasn't nearly as much blood as there should have been - especially after an attack like that. Gnawing on her skin was like chewing a piece of leather.

The jaguar looked on in confusion as Hailstorm rose to her feet. He could smell the wounds that he had inflicted, but only in traces. They were scarcely more that bruises! In some ways, the creature before him seemed to be in better health than she did when they began their battle. And her skin ... her skin was almost _perfect!_ With the exception of a few dry patches of scales as well as minor lacerations, she looked to be spanking new, fresh from the egg! However, she was no hatchling. She was something far more dangerous, now that he had removed all the shedding skin that got in her way.

Hailstorm stood tall, her scales practically glistening in the moonlight like pearls. She almost wanted to thank the jaguar, now that he had even gone so far as to remove the loose strip of skin that partly blocked one of her eyes. However, she didn't think he would care much for her gratitude, so she quietly waited for him to make his next move.

Instinct ran several possibilities through Hailstorm's mind as the jaguar squared up, and each possibility came with a solution. For once, it seemed Instinct was making herself useful.

The jaguar exploded towards her before hurling himself claws first. Anticipating this, Hailstorm had also charged forward, pre-emptively slipping her head between his outstretched paws. His jaws were open, but so were hers, and she was secure in the knowledge that hers were much bigger.

The I. rex clamped her mouth around the jaguar's head and a shocked snarl died in his throat with the compromise of his windpipe. With her forelimbs, she guarded herself from his flailing paws as she thrashed her powerful neck. Soon, the jaguar's effort's faded to naught and he went still.

Spurred by Instinct, Hailstorm wasted no time ravenously devouring the meat now readily available to her. Only after a few minutes did she satiate her hunger enough for Instinct to let her take a break and a few breaths after hogging her throat with meat at the expense of air.

The I. rex turned to Jake, having almost forgotten that he was there. Sitting on the damp floor, he stared at her, his expression unreadable. She uttered a coo, telling him that everything was okay. She was in control now: nothing to worry about. When he gave no response, she whined, urging him to say something, _anything._

To that, Jake did nothing more than slowly shake his head.

Hailstorm's spirits fell as she lowered her head, absent-mindedly staring at the carcass before her. Well, Instinct had gotten her food ... and a likely permanent blight on her otherwise relatively spotless reputation. So, was Instinct happy, she asked?

To that, Instinct said nothing.

* * *

Hailstorm lay lengthways in the back of Jake's hire jeep as it bumped down the dark road. Upon his request, she had cleaned the residue of her meal off of her scales so as not to leave any visible trace of her existence on the upholstery. She didn't know why that was necessary, but he didn't seem to be in any mood to explain so she abstained from questioning clucks. Besides, if he didn't want her to leave any sign of her presence, well ... that couldn't be good. In her mind, it meant that he didn't approve of her being there.

Hailstorm tried to think about something unrelated to her disappointing behaviour, namely the human in the front seat beside Jake. She leaned forward to get a better whiff of the individual. Oh, so it was a female? Why was she sleeping? Wow, her hair sure smelled nice - like some kind of flower combination. However, Hailstorm quickly noticed a tinge of artificiality in the fragrance. So, she hadn't scented her hair with real flowers? If not, then what? Very interesting ...

"That's Claire," Jake stated. _~Please don't touch her.~_

Please ... _don't touch her?_ Hailstorm instantly winced away from the woman. She understood the ramifications of what he was saying. Despite the calm politeness of Jake's request, it sounded more like 'don't you _dare_ touch her'. She curled up in the back compartment. Honestly, what was she going to do? How could she ever regain his trust? Even if she took advantage of her limited knowledge of English text, what would she say? "SOREE JAKE I CANT AWAYS CONTRL MI BODEE"? Come to think of it, why not? He was bound to believe that! Fat chance ...

This was a fine mess Instinct had gotten her into, she thought. So, what did the know-it-all have to say about this?

Instinct was silent.

Hailstorm would have growled if it didn't lead Jake to believe that she posed a threat. Instead, she kept her conversation to within her mind, asking if Instinct was going to just plop her into a situation like this and not help her find a way out?

Instinct told Hailstorm that she was fed, and that was all that Instinct cared about. Jake would forgive her.

Hailstorm stated that they both knew Jake might never trust her again. Another stunt like that and he might disown her entirely! ... If he wasn't going to do so already.

Much to Hailstorm's surprise, Instinct conceded her point. Yes, family was important. In some ways, its importance was right up there with food. Jake was the only intact family Hailstorm had after Firestorm's ... change. It would be best to stay on his good side, whenever feasible.

Hailstorm perked up with the faintest glimmer of hope as she asked if she and Instinct could be sisters. After all, they were stuck together, weren't they? Why not make it official?

Instinct didn't answer.

Hailstorm rethought her strategy: okay, maybe not family. How 'bout friends?

Again, Instinct was quiet.

The I. rex almost wondered if Instinct was still there, but she could almost feel Instinct giving her the mental equivalent of a quiet, unreadable stare.

Hailstorm decided to keep pressing for her goal. If Instinct wasn't ready to be family or friend, why not start with being a mutual ally? Didn't Instinct want what was best for Hailstorm? Wouldn't that be a good thing?

Instinct cooed as if chuckling. Hailstorm certainly was a persistent little thing, wasn't she? Instinct urged Hailstorm to apply the same persistence to survival. However, she told Hailstorm not to think for a moment that she didn't know what the I. rex was trying to do. As 'sisters', 'friends' or 'mutual allies', Instinct would be expected to treat Hailstorm as an equal. A mother couldn't afford to treat a child as an equal. Sometimes, the parent had to override the child's decisions, because in that mother's mind, the child was not her equal ... the child was far, _far_ more important than her mother. To her dying breath, that mother would do _anything_ to make sure that her child lived the best possible life.

Hailstorm was momentarily stunned by Instinct's selfless argument, but she quickly reminded herself that it was actually _selfish._ After all, Instinct was a part of her, which meant that helping herself was just that - helping herself.

Yes, it was selfish, and Instinct freely admitted that. Oftentimes, selfishness was an asset to survival.

This time, Hailstorm snarled. Selfishness was what got them into this jam in the first place! Just because Instinct did what she _thought_ was right did _not_ make it right! They could have simply waited for Jake! It's not like Hailstorm was going to die of starvation!

Instinct would have rolled her eyes if she had them. Hailstorm's spunk was getting frustrating.

Mentally, Hailstorm stood tall, stepped up into Instincts face and told her that that there was a _lot_ more spunk where that came from. If Instinct _dared_ interfere with her life, Hailstorm would resist her to her dying breath. There were only two options for Instinct: surrender, or _leave._

Instinct met Hailstorm's psychological gaze with a calm, unflinching stare. Her annoyance was evident, but her silence carried an unwavering self-confidence. The stare-down felt as though it lasted an eternity. In time, Hailstorm's confidence began to waver. She blinked. She fidgeted. Instinct never shifted an inch. Then Hailstorm realised the absurdity of her ultimatum: Instinct _wouldn't_ surrender, and she _couldn't_ leave. Instinct ran deeper than Hailstorm's will. In some ways, Instinct was even more "Hailstorm" than Hailstorm was herself. She was as constant as day and night; immovable as the law of gravity. Hailstorm could jump in order to temporarily defy gravity, but it would always yank her back down in the end.

Finally, Instinct told Hailstorm that she should focus on the family that she already had, as opposed to wasting time trying to befriend Instinct. After all, people who spoke to voices in their heads often qualified as crazy. Besides, Jake had been giving her more than a few questioning looks. After their heated conversation, he probably thought that Hailstorm had a few screws loose.

At the back of her mind, Hailstorm had noticed Jake staring from time to time, but she hadn't realised that the conversation with Instinct had grown so heated that she began to voice her thoughts aloud! Indeed, he must have thought that she'd lost her mind! (Well, maybe that wasn't too far from the truth). Luckily, Jake's phone was ringing, which meant that he would be distracted from his developing doubts about her sanity.

"Hello?" greeted Jake as he answered the phonr.

"Goodnight, Jake. It's Wu," came the familiar voice of the scientist.

"Goodbye," replied Jake, immediately cutting off the call.

Seconds later the phone rang once more. Hailstorm could see the heat in Jake's body language as he answered it once again.

"What do you want?" Jake asked curtly.

"Listen, I've been thinking," Henry slowly began with the inoffensive tone of one who knew he was walking on egg shells. "Hailstorm is-"

"None of your business," Jake interrupted.

The scientist paused before changing his tactic. "Don't think I'm oblivious as to her whereabouts."

Jake didn't show it in any blatant way, but Hailstorm knew him well enough to sense that his blood had run cold. Perhaps it was a chemical signal of anxiety, or the way his muscles stiffened to the slightest degree.

Racking his mind, Jake retraced the details of his plan. Was there any loophole that would have allowed Wu to figure out where Hailstorm was? Jake had thoroughly checked her for trackers, going so far as to use a radio wave detection device. It seemed InGen hadn't thought to implant a tracker as yet. In the event that they tried to track his phone instead, he had encrypted its signal as well as bounced it through a scapegoat computer to keep them off his trail. However, smart as Jake was, his plan was hasty and bound to be fraught with loopholes.

"She's recuperating in your make-shift big cat zoo," Henry stated without a hint of doubt. "You don't like the thought of her being alone and within my reach, so you've been taking there for safekeeping. Sure, your clearance makes that relatively easy, but that doesn't change the fact that you're breaking protocol."

Jake relaxed somewhat, but there was a possibility that Henry was lying. Thus, he decided to put all his cards on the table.

"Okay, guilty," Jake conceded. "Now let's talk about you. May I ask when's the last time Masrani popped in on your pet projects?"

"He doesn't micromanage," Henry stated dismissively. "Besides, what makes you think he's not aware of my activities? We've been performing stress tests on the dinosaurs for quite a while."

"Taking Firestorm to death's door _over,_ and _over,_ and _over_ is a little much for a 'stress test', don'tcha think?" asked a sardonqic Jake. "Oh, and tossing a little velociraptor into something that'll grow bigger than the T. rex? He'll _love_ that bit."

"Don't you _dare_ threaten me," hissed Henry, "and who are you to suggest that a velociraptor is one of the I. rex's key components?"

"Oh, drop it," Jake urged with an eye roll in his voice. "Did you _honestly_ think I haven't picked up on Hailstorm's little habit of barking like a raptor? There's her intelligence, too."

Dr. Wu chuckled darkly. "Though I would have preferred to keep that under wraps, but I'm not entirely surprised that you've figured it out."

"That's not the half of it," Jake assured in a tone somehow both cavalier and grave. "What about her dexterity? You must have noticed the way Firestorm sometimes grasps things with her paws. You've probably guessed that Hailstorm operated your keypad to free Firestorm. She types like a five-year-old, but that's pretty good, even for a grown raptor. Seems rather ... _anthropomorphic,_ wouldn't you say?"

"That's not-"

"Yeah, that ain't exactly hard proof, is it?" Jake agreed, cutting off Henry. "However, I've dug up enough evidence to write a thesis. Throw in the photos I snapped of the 'stress test' specs in your lab and they'll label you a genuine mad scientist. You know it's funny: you instituted the Lysine Contingency, it flopped; you made all the dinosaurs female so as to avoid reproduction, that flopped too. Maybe there's nothing wrong with Jurassic Parks. Maybe it's just _you._ Welp, that about sums up the obituary I've been writing for the past few days. Ha, no, I'm kidding: it's got a lot more to it than that. Then there's this pesky little program I set up to release all that info if, for some reason, I stop inputting a password every three days. Can't take the credit for coming up with that knockout blow, but if it works, it works."

"You're playing a dangerous game," warned Henry.

"Well, checkmate," Jake countered in a chipper manner.

"No ... stalemate," Henry replied slowly and evenly. "You know? I actually _don't_ know where Hailstorm is. She sure ain't on the island, but I can make an educated guess. Could you put her on the line? Maybe tell her Dr. Wu says 'hi'?"

Hailstorm sensed Jake's mood shift into the red zone once again.

"Look, I didn't call to start a war," stated Dr. Wu, letting the edge in his voice ebb away. "I'd like to make an offer. Has Hailstorm displayed any atypical behaviour?"

"Atypical how?" asked Jake.

"Does she converse with herself? Does she have mood swings? Does she act on erratic impulses?" Henry elaborated.

Jake glanced back at the I. rex. "She has exhibited some of the aforementioned tendencies."

Hailstorm bowed her head in shame. She was pretty sure that he was talking about her, but with her decent though limited vocabulary and having only heard Jake's half of the conversation, she wasn't quite sure what he was saying specifically.

"Firestorm has shown similar behaviour," Henry explained. "At first, I thought it was just separation anxiety. Then I decided to monitor her neurological activity with some in-house tech. There was nothing to compare it to, of course, until I placed Hailstorm under similar examinations during her check-ups - don't worry, it was in no way detrimental to her. With Hailstorm and Owen's pack as retrospective reference, I realised that her brain was functioning in a very unusual way, for any animal, actually. Some parts of her brain responsible for subconscious processes have been displaying activity that bears closer semblance of consciousness."

"What are you saying?" asked Jake, eyebrows knitted.

"I'm saying it's like she developed a second mind," the scientist went on. "That new mind would sometimes act in direct opposition to the original conscious activity. It scared Firestorm at first, I think. She would sometimes get into fights with herself. Eventually, the fighting stopped. She still seems to converse with herself at times, but her neurological processes no longer compete with each other. Since then, she has shown a notable increase in reaction time, sensory perception and overall instinctive responses. Improvements, yes, but any form of human relatability she had has dropped to a virtual nil. There was a time when she used to plea- I-I mean, attempt to communicate with me. Now, she doesn't even look at me the same way: stopped acting like I was a 'someone' and more like a 'something' - a piece of meat, to be specific. I think it's a natural psychological fail-safe linked to shedding."

Henry spoke with respectfully repressed but nonetheless evident enthusiasm. Jake, on the other hand, could not be more displeased. Long story short, Henry had broken Firestorm, Firestorm had broken Hailstorm, and there was a whole lot more psychology involved than post-traumatic stress disorder. Good to know.

Reading into Jake's silence, Henry offered: "Again, I'm sorry."

"Yes, I've heard," Jake dismissed. "So, what's your offer?"

"When Firestorm tried to attack me, Hailstorm came to my defence," Henry explained. "She was in no shape to do so, and she would have died had you not intervened. I could feel the hate in her eyes, but she chose to defend me anyway. Why?"

"That's what I trained her to do," Jake stated. "Besides, she's a natural empathetic. It's relatively easy for her to relate to humans. It helps that she puts herself in my shoes, tries to imagine what I would think, feel and do and then does it. As of late, however, I think she's managed to develop an even more personal form of empathy - an imprint of sorts on humans as a whole, as opposed to just me."

Jake's expression softened as he glanced back at Hailstorm. She seemed to wither from his gaze. Then he smiled. From that smile, she gleaned acceptance; approval; admiration; love. She wasn't sure how, but it seemed he had gained at least some understanding of what she was going through, and he was supporting her. More than that, he was proud of her!

The I. rex sighed a grateful, happy coo.

"Fascinating ..." commented Dr. Wu. "Then you would say that she's fit for duty?"

Jake furrowed his brow. "Duty? What kind of duty?"

"I've been thinking about what you said when I walked in on your 'training'," Henry began. "I never truly took it to heart, but when Hailstorm defended me from Firestorm, I had to. I could see it in her eyes: she _wanted_ to tear into me alongside her sister, but she did the opposite - for _you._ If she can do that for everyone else, then maybe the park needs her. We've managed to keep things hush hush, but you won't believe the threats we've had to deal with from within and outside of the island, and it's only gonna get worse. Maybe she can help. I suspect you were leading up to pressuring me to forswear Firestorm, and I do. I won't lay a hand on Hailstorm either, but please bring her back. Of course, I expect you'll talk things through with your 'anthropomorphic' little friend first. Phone me when you're done, in a timely fashion, of course. Goodnight."

The call ended and Jake fell into a long moment of silence broken by nothing but the grumble of the engine and the bumps of the tires. He cast his gaze at Hailstorm, who returned it attentively. Near the end of the conversation, he had put the phone on loudspeaker. Hence, she was in the loop, somewhat.

"Did you catch what he said?" asked Jake.

She slowly nodded, before shaking her head, and nodding once again: her way of saying 'Yes ... and no ... I'm not clear on the details, but I get the gist.' She added a begrudging growl, expressing her dislike for Dr. Wu, before softening that growl with a whine conceding that scientist had a point. If Jake needed her protection, she would not hesitate to protect him. In a way, there was no difference between Jake and any other human. How could she say no if they were in need? Besides, she felt guilty for what Instinct nearly made her do to a villager. She had to prove to Jake and more importantly herself that she was better than that.

Instinct scoffed. How could Hailstorm indulge in this … this … **senseless naivety!** If she were to risk her neck for others on a regular basis, she would surely die in short order!

Well, protecting people like Jake was the best way to die, Hailstorm argued.

Instinct launched arguments left, right and centre, but with the absence of hunger, her power had diminished. Eventually, she spat a warning: Fine! If Hailstorm wanted to play the fool with her life, life would find a way to teach her the err of her choice … if she managed to survive that lesson.

"We can go over the details," Jake assured, "but at the end of the day, it's your choice."


	9. Chapter 9: Too Early In the Morning

Chapter 9

Too Early in the Morning for This

The elevator arrived with a *ding*, doors parting. Owen stepped in, finger poised to select his floor. Then Jake rounded the corner at the end of the hall. Owen extended his arm, holding the door open for his friend. Then Claire appeared behind him. Owen's face dropped. Normally, he would have had the dignity to stomach sharing an elevator with her, but this time ... there was something furtive in her walk. Something predatory. Somehow, she managed to silence the clicking of her high heels even as she accelerated, savage eyes fixed on her prey - Jake.

Catching Owen's furrowed brows and widened eyes, Jake looked over-shoulder and spotted Claire. That was all it took. He quickened his step. She broke into a run. How she managed to sprint in those heels was a mystery Owen would never understand. Nonetheless, Jake was a friend, and he would hold the door for him no matter how ugly it got.

 ** _"JAAAAAKE!"_** Claire screeched.

A chill spiked through Owen's heart: an effect not even a tyrannosaurus roar could induce. His flight instinct took the wheel. If he had to choose between a flesh-eating beast of a female and a starving velociraptor, he'd pick the raptor. At the very least, it was too early in the morning for this kind of stress.

Owen couldn't have withdrawn his arm faster if Rexy herself took a chomp at it. Simultaneously, he pressed (more like hammered) the button corresponding with his destination floor.

Jake's eyes popped. If expressions could speak, his would have wailed a Shakespearean lament, **'Et tu, Brute?!'**

Owen mouthed the word _'sorry!'_ before repeatedly jabbing the button as though it would somehow speed up the doors clasping shut.

Jake's body practically smacked against the elevator just as it came to a full close. He drove his fingers between the groove in a desperate attempt to pry it open. Even as the elevator began to hum towards its destination, Jake was fairly certain he could still hear Owen button-mashing.

Feral, pedicured nails sank into Jake's shoulder, the likes of which he had never felt even from the claws of his big cats. Those nails spun him around with a yank before a deceptively petite hand slammed him against the elevator. If looks could kill, Claire's searing eyes would have landed her a life sentence.

 ** _"YOU_** **SHOT ME!"** she bellowed.

"With a _tranq!"_ Jake argued.

 **"YOU** ** _SHOT_** **ME!"**

"You would have **_died_** out there!"

 **"YOU. SHOT.** ** _MEEEE!"_**

Needless to say, she wasn't listening. He was certain that her nails had pierced to the joint as she shook him with enough fervour to dislocate an arm. Jake wasn't quite sure what she said next amid the screeching and whatnot, but he was fairly certain that he'd lost 25% of his hearing by the time she hit an abrupt lull. Then her lips were moving but nothing came out. It took Jake a moment to realise that she had run out of breath ... or had collapsed a lung. He'd never seen someone so reluctant to pause and take a breather, but when her face began to turn blue she finally inhaled. Jake took advantage of the fleeting opportunity.

"I _found_ the _jaguar,"_ he stressed. "He almost _killed_ me. He _would_ have killed _you."_

A panting Claire just stood there, staring, hesitating. Had he appealed to her better nature? Not quite. Either she needed a few more seconds to catch her breath or she was contemplating the best way to get even with him without losing her job or/and ending up in prison. Then something wet caught her eyes as it rose from under Jake's shirt. Something red. She practically tore off the garment and covered her mouth upon seeing the bandages around his chest, red seeping through the white, thanks to her excessive shaking.

"I- Y-you ... It ... I-I ..." Claire stammered, gasping at the sight.

"Yup. Found the jaguar," Jake stated.

Clair swallowed, giving a few quick nods before gingerly buttoning back up Jake's shirt ... with what was left of the buttons. Her eyes darted about, making contact with everything but his face. She was ashamed. Frankly, he was ashamed too.

"I shot you," Jake acknowledged. "Sorry. I'm not exactly a 'people person'. Didn't know how to convince you to stay put, but that's no excuse."

Claire nodded once again. He couldn't quite read her response, but at least she wasn't trying to kill him.

"So, did you get 'im?" asked Claire.

It was Jake's turn to nod. Claire reciprocated and moved to give him a soft, affirming shoulder punch. Then, remembering the nail holes she'd no doubt left, she aborted the action.

"Good job," she uttered, before turning and leaving in a brisk, nervous walk accentuated by the click of her heels.

Jake released a breath of relief. Maybe things would be a tad awkward between them for a few days ... or weeks, but at least she wasn't plotting his murder.

* * *

Owen squinted in thought as he sat in the gym, reading an article on his phone. Footsteps met his ears and he looked up to see Jake stepping into the room.

"You're **_alive!"_** exclaimed Owen.

Jake raised a hand in wordless greeting, too jaded to voice his response. Owen interpreted it as well-deserved disassociation.

"Hey, I'm sorry," Owen began. "I am ... I mean I _was_ in the army, and soldiers don't abandon their comrades."

"It's okay," Jake answered simply.

Owen nodded with a dry smile. "I deserved that."

"Deserved what?"

"The cold shoulder."

"I said 'it's okay'," Jake repeated.

"I read between the lines," Owen clarified. "You're seething on the inside."

"More like 'fizzling'," Jake corrected. "It's been a long, exhausting two hours."

He proceeded to unleash melee upon an unsuspecting punching bag.

Owen pointed at his friend. "You've had a 'long, exhausting two hours', and you're going all Jackie Chan?"

"It helps me relax."

"I understand. You're beating me in effigy."

"No. I'm not. We're cool."

"I hear ya."

Jake got the distinct impression that Owen wasn't listening, but he decided to drop the subject.

"Wait a minute ... what's that?" asked Owen.

"What's what?"

"That red tint under your shirt."

Jake looked down and frowned to see that his bandages were failing him. He had no one to blame but himself for engaging in ill-advised exertion.

"I've neglected to teach the spinos table manners," Jake joked. "Some residue from their last feeding got on my shirt."

"Did Claire do this to you?" asked Owen.

"You're still not listening."

"You know she could get fired for this." Owen's face lit up. "Better yet, we could take her to _court!_ Let's see the damage!"

Owen marched towards him.

"I told you, it was the dinosaurs," Jake insisted.

"Then take off your shirt. Prove it."

"I'm not taking off my-!" Jake paused, calming himself with a deep breath before using his trademark Whisper. ~Owen, you need to give me some space.~

 **"Hey!** Don't give me that!" Owen snapped, using his alpha tone. "Hand over the shirt. I'm not gonna let that _animal_ walk all over you!"

~Back. Off,~ Jake commanded.

"What'd I just say?" Owen persisted, reaching out for the clothing much the same way he would lift a hand to his raptors. **"Give. Me. Your. Shirt."**

They both turned to see Barry standing in the doorway. Having no context for what was transpiring, he sipped his coffee, turned on a heel and left the room without a word.

"Why do you have so many pictures of Claire?" asked Jake, scrolling through Owen's phone.

Owen felt his pocket, confirming its emptiness.

"A friend of mine and I used to play pickpocket, _very_ competitively, might I add," Jake explained. "We were our only victims, of course, but we got really good at it. Right up until high school graduation, we were duelling. Just wanted you to see that there's a trade-off for invading my space."

Owen frowned. "This is the thanks I get for looking out for ya?"

He snatched at the phone, only for Jake to juggle it into another hand.

"You also have some pics of Zara," Jake stated with a smirk. "Do I spy a triangle?"

"I don't wanna drop you," Owen warned.

"I don't wanna drop your _phone,"_ Jake countered. "You should invest in a sturdy case, with the rowdy dinosaurs and whatnot."

Finally, Owen managed to grab the phone, casting his grinning friend a sidelong glare.

"So, what's up with the article?" asked Jake.

Owen rolled his eyes. Was there any part of his phone where Jake hadn't trespassed?

"The media claims a rogue jaguar attempted to maul a local on the mainland," Owen explained. "They also claim that the remains of the jaguar were found after a lucky caiman made a meal of it."

"They _'claim'?"_ asked Jake.

Owen showed his friend the photographs populating the article. "Look at this. The guy was dragged into the jungle, but he has no notable injuries. Maybe the predator didn't want to leave a messy trail, but that would suggest uncharacteristic intelligence. On the other hand, there isn't much left of the carcass, but a caiman doesn't do this kind of damage."

Jake raised an eyebrow. "What would?"

Owen hesitated. "Blue ... maybe ... if she were older. And Rexy, if she were younger. Perhaps a crocodile, if crocs actually lived on the mainland."

Jake put a finger on the screen, contributing to the conversation so as to feign interest. "My spinosauruses leave broken bones like that."

"But it can't be a spinosaurus," Owen added. "It doesn't look like the work of any one thing."

"What are you suggesting?" Jake inquired.

Again, Owen paused to gather his thoughts. "Maybe someone smuggled something from Isla Sorna that," he made air quotes, "'wAsN't On InGeN's LiSt'. There aren't any species here that eat like that. It could be an undiscovered non-saurian species, but that is the least likely of two unlikely scenarios."

"And the most likely would be ...?" pressed Jake.

Owen flung his arms in an outburst. "That those _**idiots**_ in the lab are pumpin' **diarrhoea** and an even **_bigger_** idiot decided to take it off the island for **show and tell!** _'Ooh, ahh,_ look at **me!** Look a this _**steaming**_ mound of **diarrhoea** I brought! Thought it would make a good **pet,** or **attack dog** , or **_something_** **equally stupid!** _**Lookit,**_ kids! **Pet** it! **Poke** it with a **_stick_** **,** but mind the **jaws!'** Mark. My. Words. after the _first park_ , the _San Diego Incident_ and the _**completely**_ avoidable **hoo-ha** on Isla Sorna, it's only a matter of time before we're looking at a **_literal_** **Jurassic World,** **AND I'M ONE OF THE IDIOTS WHO LIVES IN IT!"**

Jake slowly nodded. He didn't need to act to reflect the abject cringiness of the moment.

Owen raised his hand in an apology. "Look man, I'm sorry you had to hear that. It's too early in the morning for this. I'm gonna grab another coffee and, uh ... Don't tell anyone I said that."

Jake glimpsed Dr. Henry Wu receding from the doorway after giving him a discretely pointed glance.

"I'll save you the walk," offered Jake, heading for the door. "What'll it be?"

"Just a _touch_ of cream and 25 sugars," Owen answered.

Jake hiccuped to a stop and gave his friend an acutely concerned stare. "I'm sorry … **_what?"_**

Owen shrugged. "Anything less won't give me the kick."

"Have … you been drinking that every day?"

"Only Mondays. Then I'm set for the rest of the week."

Jake squinted as his poor brain overclocked to make sense of that.

Owen gave a flat smile and shook his head. "Don't overthink it."

* * *

The moment Jake left the gym, Dr. Wu fell in step beside him, reading a newspaper with a headline featuring a conspicuously familiar topic accentuated by a messy photograph.

"I see 'Hailey' made the headlines," commented Dr. Wu.

Jake froze mid-step for a fraction of a second. 'Hailey'? Not 'Hailstorm'? The doctor was showing his hand.

"A hard copy newspaper. Huh," Jake commented. "Forget the dinosaurs. You're the real deal."

"I never pegged you for banal banter, Mr. Anderson," Henry replied with the dry air of an unamused school teacher. "Remarkable girl, that Hailey: scarcely a scratch after her tussle with the jaguar. I presume her shedding skin took the edge off the damage, but nonetheless I'm impressed."

Jake raised both eyebrows, none too pleased. "You examined her?"

"She wasn't particularly happy to see me, but she cooperated like a good little Baby Bop."

Jake squinted in confusion.

Henry huffed in mild annoyance. "A character from 'Barney and Friends'. Brush up on your childhood."

"Hm, I thought you were adverse to banal banter," Jake commented.

Henry ignored that statement and stopped, folding the paper and looking Jake dead in the eye. "I haven't come to entertain a conversation. This is a one-way discourse, so _listen._ "

Jake self-consciously glanced at one of the cameras in the hallway. Then he noticed how Dr. Wu seemed to angle his face away from the cameras every time he said something sensitive. Surveillance wasn't equipped with audio capabilities, but it was not out of the question for someone to discern their conversation via lip-reading. An improbable prospect, but a prospect nonetheless. Henry must have realised that. If they were implicated, Jake had no doubt that Henry would leverage his own words against him given the opportunity. Jake decided to respond in kind, eluding the cameras and inconspicuously setting his phone to 'record'.

Dr. Wu raised an eyebrow - a sign of suspicion that Jake wasn't answering a text or anything to that effect.

Jake looked out the window, evading surveillance. "After what she did to the jaguar, I'm surprised you'd be comfortable getting anywhere near her."

Henry cocked his head, subtly eyeing the camera as he formed a good hypothesis for why Jake was still talking.

The doctor's tone was flat and to the point, contrasted by a nuance of grandiosity. "Jake, I reinstated nature's greatest killers. I made them _bigger_ and _badder._ Then I broke my record and designed new ones. What gave you the impression I was a cautious man? Instinct is an untamed force of nature, yet paradoxically predictable as clockwork. I know how Hailstorm thinks. So long as she is not subject critical stimuli such as hunger or an immediate threat, she's your sweet little 'Hailey'. Then there's the fact that she defended me with her life."

"She did that because _I_ would have wanted it. What happens when I stop wanting it?"

"I've studied your profile, Jake, not to mention taken notes firsthand," Henry parried as he resumed his walk. "You're one of those people who keeps their Firestorm under lock and key - maverick though you can be under pressure, you never cross the line. Do yourself a favour and don't _ever_ try to outfox me again. You lack the I.Q."

"Intellectual Quotient measures a very narrow scope of aptitude," Jake countered, moving alongside the doctor. "That said, we're not that far removed in terms of I.Q."

After the first camera, Henry was suspicious. However, having passed three more, it became evident that Jake was dodging them at crucial moments.

"Clever boy," commented Dr. Wu. "But I digress. Seeing as we're locked in a stalemate, I caution you to be a little more discreet next time you take Hailstorm on a field trip. Maybe forgo the headlines. Better yet, just forgo."

Dr. Wu gave Jake a chummy slap on the shoulder and began to depart, stopping at the sound of a loud _**'ahem'.**_ He turned to see Jake's hand outstretched as though to receive something.

"Excuse me?" asked Henry with a shadow of a smirk.

Jake explained. "Honey encryption, a homing app, private cloud backup and a few other goodies, _but_ if you wanna take a stab at the firewalls ..."

The man curled his fingers twice, beckoning the doctor.

Dr. Wu shook his head with a smile, walked up to Jake, took his hand and pulled him close in a 'shake hug' while slipping the phone back into his pocket. The lay observer might have thought that they were acting on camaraderie.

"Believe it or not, I look forward to our _many_ battles of wits," Henry quietly stated before pulling away and giving Jake a plastic smile. "Be seeing you, Mr. Anderson."

As the two went their separate ways, Jake released a breath he didn't realise he was holding, before finding himself face to face with Claire. She froze. He froze. She looked like a deer in the headlights. Finally, she ventured a small wave and a sheepish smile. He returned it. As if on cue, they began to walk together, apparently heading in the same direction.

"So ... um ..." she swallowed the palpable awkwardness, "I didn't realise you and Dr. Wu were close."

"Pardon me?" asked a slightly distracted Jake, whose fight/flight instinct had yet to settle after the conversation with Henry. Luckily, the mere sight of her was enough to start the process of calming his nerves.

"The 'shake hug'?" Claire specified.

"Oh, that," Jake replied with a quick nod. "I'd say we're more like 'frenemies'."

Claire knitted her brow. "I didn't realise guys had 'frenemies' ... but I see where you're coming from."

"How so?"

Claire looked around as though the walls had ears. "Dr. Wu is the singular most critical factor in the park's existence. A world without him means a world without dinosaurs, for better or worse. He built the original park from the genome up and it came down in flames. If I were him, I would ..." she hesitated, "I would break. It'd tear me up inside, seeing the blood on my hands. I don't ... like to think about some of the dinosaurs: what they are, what they can do. That's one of the reasons why I prefer to see them as numbers. What could drive someone to dauntlessly break their own records after seeing the blood on their hands? Some kind of, I don't know, personality disorder?"

Jake shrugged. "To be fair, I've seen him express some measure of regret, but not to the most appropriate degree. Aside from that, he seems to be a dangerous mix of curious and ambitious. Perhaps he's a borderline high-functioning sociopath."

Claire shook her head. "Look at us, gossiping about our coworkers. So, how's Owen? I take it you're 'The Man' after your jaguar hunt story?"

"Actually, I've decided to heed your advice and keep it to myself."

She cocked her head at him. "Why the sudden change in stance?"

"Like you said, you know how he can get," Jake answered.

Claire gave an affirmative nod. "Well, it's not like our activities are his business anyway."

Jake groaned behind his smile. What a lovely snafu of duplicity things were shaping up to be.

"Anyway, here's my stop," Claire declared. "I'll see you later."

* * *

In the canteen, Jake found Lowery Cruthers deeply engrossed in a texting session. He voiced a greeting, but Lowery seemed completely oblivious of his arrival. That is, until he slowly lifted his head as he noticed Jake preparing two cups of coffee with cream and 25 sugars. His eyes popped, jaw ajar.

"Look, I know things have been a little dicey with Claire on a war path," Lowery began. "Life has it's ups and downs, but things are gonna get better. Trust me."

Jake blinked at Lowery's empathetic tone. It sounded like the guy was trying to talk a hopeless soul down from a bridge.

"You heard about that?" asked Jake.

 _"_ _Everyone's_ heard about that, but I'm _telling_ you: sugar-induced suicide is **not** the answer!"

Jake chuckled. "It's not suicide. It's Owen's Monday routine."

Lowery gave a single, gradual nod and pointed at the second beverage. "And the _other_ cup?"

"That's mine. Don't overthink it."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading.**

 **Presuming you're fascinated by dinosaurs (like 90% of everyone on this planet) you might enjoy my recent one shot, "The Battle Before Time". Remember those dinosaur kids from "The Land Before Time" who started out in a tear-jerking adventure that quickly evolved into a musical as the series went on? This isn't about them. Well, technically it is, but picture them about twenty years later - young adults, trained by The Lone Dinosaur to be the saurian equivalent of martial artists. Join Littlefoot as he journeys across The Mysterious Beyond, making friends and enemies. Battling sharpteeth is one thing when you're the biggest thing on the planet, but what happens when he finds himself staring up into the face of a new threat: the Far Beyonders?**

 **Did you catch the references to Chris Pratt's other roles? Heh heh, I had fun with those. Review and let me know what you think.**


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